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Dave Van Niekerk, CEO of GetBucks, seen here moderating at a Herald Business event last year

TLG Capital, a private equity company focused on Sub Saharan Africa, has entered into its largest transaction to date with GetBucks Ltd, a pan-African, technology-driven, microfinance company headquartered in Mauritius. GetBucks also has branches in Zimbabwe.TLG’s investment will be used by GetBucks to support its expansion into new jurisdictions and to deliver new products and services including micro-insurance and banking to those beyond the reach of traditional financial services providers.

According to the African Development Bank, Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest banking penetration rate in the world, standing at an average of 16,6 percent compared to 63,5 percent in developing countries.

The potential to serve the unbanked represents significant opportunities for TLG and GetBucks to both generate commercial returns and achieve development impact.

The deal team at TLG was led by Dominic Clive. The legal team was led by MJ Hudson in the UK, and included Globalex in Mauritius and DMH in Zimbabwe. Brainworks Capital advised GetBucks on the transaction.

Zain Latif, TLG Capital’s founder, said: “This is TLG’s maiden investment directly in to the fintech and consumer finance space, a sector we have been carefully monitoring for a number of years.

In GetBucks we have found the right local partner with the right combination of people, experience and technology.

The key to success in this industry is building a sustainable and scalable platform from which to best serve the needs of the base consumer. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship between TLG, GetBucks and the African consumer.”

Dave Van Niekerk, CEO of GetBucks, said: “The investment from TLG has given the group the springboard it needs to further grow its customer base and successfully penetrate new markets.

TLG shares our vision of changing how access to financial services is perceived and delivered to the market, so we are very pleased to have them on board.”

GetBucks was founded in 2011 and currently operates in predominantly high-growth emerging African markets within Sub-Saharan Africa, including Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

The group operates by way of a scalable, replicable, virtual online financial services platform, deployable across various markets and jurisdictions. – Wires.