Optasia wants to lend more than airtime credit
Optasia, listed on the JSE a year ago, reported $270 million in nine-month revenue as it shifts from airtime advances to microfinance, according to TechCabal.
The facts
- Optasia made $270 million in revenue in the first nine months of 2026, up 45% year on year, according to TechCabal.
- Microfinance brought in $194 million, about 72% of group revenue, while airtime credit brought in $75 million.
- The company wants more than 80% of revenue to come from microfinance and uses AI and alternative data to assess borrowers without formal credit histories.
- Its chief executive, Salvador Anglada, says Pakistan is a strong market outside Africa, and Ghana, Uganda and Zambia are also seeing more demand.
Case notes · Danny's take
Why it matters
Airtime credit got Optasia in the door. Microfinance is where the money now sits. The story is bigger than one company: millions of Africans earn through informal work and never get a payslip, so lenders are turning to phone behaviour as proof they can repay. That opens access, but it also raises the risk of over-lending, a point the source itself flags. Credit is only a good product if people can repay it.
For traders
If you follow the listed stock, watch the full-year results against the guidance given at the IPO, and check whether microfinance keeps growing as a share of revenue. Treat management's own growth claims as claims until the numbers confirm them.
For builders
Alternative-data scoring is becoming the standard way to lend to people with no formal credit history. The gap is in merchant financing and working capital for small businesses, which Optasia says it is targeting. Affordability checks and responsible-lending design are part of the product, not an afterthought.
Not financial advice. Do your own investigation.
This story was summarised with AI from TechCabal's reporting and checked against our editorial policy. Danny's take reflects his views. Disclaimer.
Danny Walter
Founder of Moon Republic, Volt Terminal and Moon Republic Academy. Author of The Market Is a Crime Scene and After the Applause.