Optasia, the AI-powered financial infrastructure platform serving underbanked customers in emerging markets, notes that FirstRand Limited has increased its shareholding in Optasia to 26.1% through the acquisition of an additional 6% stake.

FirstRand acquired 74,103,711 ordinary shares in Optasia at ZAR20.00 on 25 March 2026 from an entity owned by Bassim Haidar, founder and non-executive director of Optasia. This follows FirstRand’s initial strategic investment in Optasia in October 2025, where it acquired 20.1% of Optasia ahead of its IPO.

Subsequent to the transaction, Bassim Haidar now holds an aggregate, indirect shareholding of 1.5% of the total issued shares in Optasia, and remains on the Board of the Company, continuing to actively support the company’s strategic direction.

Salvador Anglada, Optasia’s Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“We are delighted that FirstRand has increased its investment in Optasia. The exceptional performance reported for full year 2025 demonstrates how well positioned Optasia is to address the substantial market opportunity and advance its strategic pursuit of disciplined, responsible scaling to create long-term sustainable value for all stakeholders.”

Issued on behalf of Optasia 

FTI Consulting

Sherryn Schooling

T: +27 82 776 2840

E: optasia@fticonsulting.com

About Optasia 

Founded in 2012, Optasia is a publicly listed AI-powered financial infrastructure platform that enables financial institutions, mobile network operators and digital platforms to expand financial access across emerging markets.  Acting as the technology and risk intelligence layer behind its partners’ financial products, Optasia delivers Micro Financing Solutions (MFS) and Airtime Credit Solutions (ACS) through mobile ecosystems that reach millions of underserved consumers.

Designed from the ground up for data-scarce markets, Optasia’s platform combines real-time data, advanced analytics and machine learning to support responsible credit decisioning at scale. By helping partners assess creditworthiness beyond traditional financial records, the platform enables millions of people to establish financial identities and participate more fully in the digital economy.

Today, Optasia processes more than 34 million transactions daily and operates across 38 countries, delivering financial access responsibly.

Optasia listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in November 2025 and trades under the stock ticker OPA.

www.optasia.com

Artykuł Further investment by FirstRand in AI-led fintech Optasia pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.

Financial highlights:

• Distributed value: $5.5 billion, up 44%
• Revenue: $265 million, up 76% demonstrating platform scalability
• Adjusted EBITDA: $115 million up 52%, with adjusted EBITDA margin resilient at 43.2%
• Normalised net income $57.8 million up 57%
• Take rate increased to 4.8%, reflecting strategic revenue mix shift
• Default rate remains low at 1.2%, demonstrating effectiveness of AI-driven credit decisioning and disciplined risk management framework

Operational highlights:

• The total number of users increased 43% year-on-year, surpassing 432 million.
• Eight new deployments launched in 2025

Johannesburg, 16 March 2026: Optasia, an AI-powered financial infrastructure platform serving underbanked customers in emerging markets, today announced its results for the twelve-month period ended 31 December 2025 (“FY25”).

Salvador Anglada, Optasia’s CEO, commented:

“2025 was a transformative year for Optasia. We successfully completed our category-defining listing on the JSE in November and welcomed FirstRand as a strategic shareholder. These milestones provide a strong validation of our operating model and growth trajectory and significantly enhance our visibility and credibility as a leading global fintech.

Our exceptional operational and financial performance in 2025, together with the continued growth in market share, customer adoption rates and recognition of our innovative solutions underscores the success of our strategy. 

Entering 2026 from this position of strength, we are confident in our ability to deliver robust revenue and earnings growth primarily through further expansion in mobile financial services. We remain laser-focused on pursuing disciplined, responsible scaling, innovation, and geographic reach to drive long-term sustainable value whilst delivering on our vision to enable responsible financial empowerment for a more inclusive world.”

Business update

Optasia reported exceptional financial performance for the year ended 31 December 2025, delivering a 76% increase in revenue of $265.4 million (FY24: $151.2 million) and a 52% increase in adjusted EBITDA of $115 million (FY24: $75.1 million), exceeding the guidance provided at the time of its IPO in November 2025.

Annual credit facilitated for Optasia’s business partners increased substantially by 44% to $5.5 billion (FY24: $3.8 billion). The Group also improved monetisation across its platform, with take rate increasing to 4.8% (FY24: 4.0%), reflecting the growing contribution of Micro Financing Solutions (MFS).

Adjusted EBITDA margin remains resilient at 43.2% (FY24: 49.7%), moderating slightly due to the costs associated with micro-lending. This shift reflects the deliberate strategic evolution toward micro finance services which have stronger underlying unit economics and higher profit per unit of distribution. This is evidenced by the improvement in Adjusted EBITDA to Distributed Value, which increased to 2.1%(FY24: 2.0%). Disciplined cost management and continuous operational optimisation remain central to sustaining long-term value creation.

Reported earnings for the year were impacted by one-off costs associated with the Group’s listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in November 2025. These relate to capital transaction costs and IPO-related management compensation incurred as part of the listing process. Excluding these non-recurring items, Normalised Net Income increased 57.1% to $57.8 million (FY24: $36.8 million), reflecting the strong underlying operating performance of the Group during the year.

Optasia continued to generate positive operating cash flow in 2025, with adjusted free cash flow increasing by 41% to $44.9 million, and adjusted free cash flow conversion of 39%. Cash conversion improved strongly in the second half of the year, with adjusted free cash flow of 53% following stabilising net working capital changes. This strong cash generation supported reinvestment in growth and product development while maintaining a healthy balance sheet.

Net working capital increased to $107.2 million (FY24: $65.8 million), equivalent to 40.4% of revenue, in line with 40% guided at IPO, with levels improving and stabilising during the second half of the year. This was primarily driven by strong growth in MFS revenues, where invoicing and collection cycles are typically longer. Total debt outstanding as at 31 December 2025 amounted to $106.8 million (FY24: $88.2 million).

Optasia continued to scale responsibly during the year while maintaining a low default rate of 1.2%, in line with IPO guidance which accounts for the accelerated scaling of micro-lending services. This low default rate demonstrates the effectiveness of the Group’s AI-driven credit decisioning and disciplined risk management framework.

Growth was driven by expansion into additional markets, stronger utilisation across existing partner ecosystems and the onboarding of new distribution partners, together with the continued development of new financial services capabilities on the platform. These developments continue to diversify Optasia’s revenue base while strengthening the resilience of the platform across multiple geographies. Eight new deployments launched during the year, with MFS expanding into new markets including Cameroon, Ghana and Congo-Brazzaville, and Airtime Credit Solutions (‘ACS’) into markets including Liberia, Eswatini and Malaysia.

The total number of users interacting with the Group’s services increased by 43% year-on-year, surpassing 432 million. This growth provides evidence of improved adoption across our platform.

MFS continued to grow strongly during the year, with revenue growing 149% year-on-year. This growth reflects increasing demand for digital credit services across the platform. MFS now accounts for 63% of group revenue as Optasia advances its strategic product mix evolution to expand its financial services offering and strengthen unit economics.

Airtime Credit Solutions remains a core service within the platform, supporting customer engagement and acting as a key entry point into broader financial services. ACS continues to grow at pace, with revenues increasing 17.4% year-on-year.

Strategic Outlook

Optasia’s strategic priority is to diversify growth and replicate its proven model in large, underpenetrated markets while extending responsible digital financial access to millions of additional underserved customers. To this end, the Group remains actively focused on expanding its geographic footprint across Africa and accelerating its presence in Asia while deepening service penetration in existing markets.

This expansion is supported by its ecosystem-led approach, which brings together mobile network operators, mobile money providers, digital banks and financial institutions to enable financial access at true scale.

In 2026 the Group expects to launch several new deployments and expand its suite of credit scoring and digital lending solutions across existing and additional markets. Ongoing rollouts across Africa, Asia and the Middle East are expected to generate new revenue streams and further strengthen the Group’s market presence.

Technology and product innovation remain a core strategic differentiator for Optasia in 2026. Ongoing investment and advances in AI and machine learning are expected to further amplify the Group’s capabilities, driving greater precision, efficiency and scalability.  In parallel, the Group plans to broaden the functionality of its platform and progress the development of complementary products designed to meet diverse local market needs.

 The Group also expects to benefit from its strategic partnership with FirstRand Bank, which creates substantial opportunities for collaboration across product development, market expansion and funding structures.

Strong trading performance in 2026 year to date continues to position the Group for sustained growth and profitability. Near-term revenue and earnings growth, driven primarily by continued expansion in MFS, are expected to outperform IPO guidelines.

Medium term ambitions focus on sustaining healthy low to mid-twenties growth across revenue, adjusted EBITDA and net income, supported by geographic expansion, deeper penetration and continued product innovation.

Events subsequent to 2025 financial year end

Optasia announced today that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Finergi Global FZCO (Finergi), for an initial upfront consideration of $30 million, with a contingent deferred cash consideration of $10 million, payable upon meeting defined performance milestones.

Finergi is a technology company that uses patented technology to provide real-time credit access through prepaid electricity systems, enabling it to transform essential services into a platform for financial inclusion.

Finergi has successfully built a scalable platform and secured initial contracts that validate its product and market fit. With patents secured in 24 countries and applications filed in four additional jurisdictions, Finergi’s proprietary IP positions it as a first mover in utilities credit, creating a high-margin, direct-to-consumer platform with multiple cross-sell opportunities.

Underpinned by a large and growing addressable market for electricity credit advances, Finergi is positioned to expand rapidly over the next 12 months, leveraging its innovative product offering and existing client pipeline of utility providers, governments, and financial service partners to address the structural short-term credit gap.

The acquisition allows Optasia to participate in this anticipated growth from an early stage in a market where scale and depth of integration create long-term defensibility and platform optionality. This transaction marks an important first step for Optasia in advancing on its strategic plan to expand through new ecosystems beyond telcos to deliver financial services to the world’s underbanked.

ENDS

The SENS announcement is available here.

The financial results and a copy of the presentation have also been made available on the Group’s website: https://optasia.com/investor-relations/

The SENS announcement related to the Finergi transaction is available here.

Group media call

Optasia management is hosting a group media video call at 10:00 am SAST (08:00 am GMT), Monday 16 March. Management will be available to take any questions verbally.

The link to join the media call and Q&A is: https://www.corpcam.com/OptasiaMediaCall16March2026

Investor presentation

A webcast of the results presentation followed by a Q&A session with management will be broadcast at 11:00am SAST (09:00am GMT), Monday, 16 March 2026. (Media are welcome to attend in listen-only mode)

The link to register for the live webcast is: https://www.corpcam.com/OptasiaResults16032026

Issued on behalf of Optasia

FTI Consulting 

Melany Kuhn

T: +27 78 887 7004

E: optasia@fticonsulting.com

About Optasia

Founded in 2012, Optasia is a publicly listed AI-powered financial infrastructure platform that enables financial institutions, mobile network operators and digital platforms to expand financial access across emerging markets.  Acting as the technology and risk intelligence layer behind its partners’ financial products, Optasia delivers Micro Financing Solutions (MFS) and Airtime Credit Solutions (ACS) through mobile ecosystems that reach millions of underserved consumers.

Designed from the ground up for data-scarce markets, Optasia’s platform combines real-time data, advanced analytics and machine learning to support responsible credit decisioning at scale. By helping partners assess creditworthiness beyond traditional financial records, the platform enables millions of people to establish financial identities and participate more fully in the digital economy.

Today, Optasia processes more than 34 million transactions daily and serves over 430 million active users annually across 38 countries, delivering financial access responsibly.

Optasia listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in November 2025 and trades under the stock ticker OPA.

www.optasia.com

Artykuł Newly listed AI-led fintech Optasia delivers 76% revenue growth for 2025, exceeding IPO guidance pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.

The National Data Privacy Summit, which concluded on Wednesday, 4 February, was convened in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA), which safeguards personal information across the country.

Welcoming Nigeria’s National Privacy Week 2026, Dr Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner/CEO of the NDPC, underscored the central role of privacy in building trust and unlocking sustainable digital growth. “Privacy is not an isolated privilege; it is a fundamental right guaranteed by our Constitution. By building trust, we unlock the full potential of our digital economy and protect every Nigerian’s digital identity,” he said.

These priorities closely align with Optasia’s approach, as the company focuses on enabling inclusive digital financial services while embedding privacy, accountability and trust into its technology and partnerships.

Uchenna Agbo, Chief Commercial Officer at Optasia

As a company operating AI-powered financial services within highly regulated environments globally, Optasia brings practical experience in embedding governance, accountability and data protection into large-scale digital systems. The company delivers its services exclusively through licensed financial institutions and regulated distribution partners, supporting the responsible expansion of digital financial services while maintaining robust standards of security and privacy. Optasia’s SOC 2 Type II certification underscores its commitment to maintaining internationally recognised standards of security, confidentiality, and privacy.

Speaking during the event, Uchenna Agbo, Chief Commercial Officer at Optasia, highlighted the heightened responsibility that accompanies rapid digital growth. “As Nigeria’s digital economy expands, the data that powers innovation and inclusion must be protected with the same seriousness as financial capital,” she said. “For Optasia, compliance, ethical data use and respect for consumer privacy are foundational to building long-term confidence across the digital ecosystem.”

Antoine Chatzistamatiou, Optasia’s Chief Technology & Innovation Officer, Uchenna Agbo, Chief Commercial Officer and Stelios Lelis, Chief Data & Risk Officer at the National Data Privacy Summit

Optasia’s executive leadership participated in high-level panel discussions, with Chief Technology & Innovation Officer Antoine Chatzistamatiou sharing insights on “Building trust by design: Privacy, ethics, and accountability in emerging technologies”, alongside a senior representative from GTBank.

Additionally, Chief Data & Risk Officer Stelios Lelis contributed to a session titled “Innovation without Intrusion: Balancing data-driven growth with privacy as a fundamental right”, alongside senior leadership from Microsoft and Stanbic IBTC.

Optasia’s Nigeria engagement is anchored in four operating priorities: privacy-by-design, responsible use of AI, innovation without intrusive data practices, and stronger collaboration across the licensed ecosystem.

The company’s engagement in Nigeria reflects a long-term commitment to supporting a trusted and inclusive digital economy. As data-driven services continue to expand across sectors, Optasia remains focused on contributing constructively to ecosystem conversations around privacy, accountability, and responsible innovation.

Artykuł Optasia Leads Responsible AI and Privacy-by-Design at Nigeria’s National Privacy Week 2026 pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.

At the core of this approach is the design of AI systems that support consistent, responsible decision-making across markets, while operating at scale.

What Ethical AI Means in Financial Access

In financial services, ethical AI is defined by outcomes. It requires aligning automated decisions with long-term user wellbeing, ensuring that access to credit supports stability and repeat engagement over time.

At Optasia, scoring models are trained to account for repayment capacity, behavioural consistency, and affordability thresholds. This ensures that financial access remains sustainable for users and manageable across varying economic conditions.

From Approval to Affordability as a Core Design Principle

Credit decisions rely on understanding how much financial obligation a customer can reasonably carry. Optasia’s models evaluate affordability by analysing behavioural and transactional signals that reflect real financial capacity over time.

Credit limits are actively managed and adjusted dynamically, allowing access to expand in line with improving affordability. This approach supports responsible growth while maintaining discipline across large user bases.

Leveraging Unstructured Data Responsibly

Many consumers across African markets operate outside formal credit systems, resulting in limited traditional credit histories. Optasia’s AI models address this by analysing a broad range of behavioural data points, often drawn from thousands of unstructured signals generated through digital interactions.

This data enables a more accurate understanding of financial behaviour and affordability, supporting credit decisions that are both inclusive and controlled. Consumer safeguards are embedded directly into the decisioning logic, ensuring that each approval aligns with sustainable use.

As AI-driven financial platforms scale, consistency and discipline become as important as innovation. Systems must apply the same affordability logic, governance standards, and safeguards across markets, partners, and user segments.

At Optasia, these principles are built directly into how decisions are made. This is what allows financial inclusion to grow sustainably — maintaining trust, protecting users, and supporting long-term participation at scale.

Artykuł Algorithms That Safeguard: How Optasia Applies Ethical AI to Financial Inclusion pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.

During the panel “From Buzz to Billions: Can Fintech Drive Real Inclusion?”, Optasia Group CEO Salvador Anglada focused on three key areas that everyone working across emerging markets, fintech, or digital financial services should be paying attention to right now.

1. AI has moved from being an innovation experiment to an operational backbone for financial access.

As Salvador noted, Optasia now uses 5,000+ data points and 1,500 AI-driven credit models to decide creditworthiness in just 30 seconds.

For the 1.7 billion people that are still unbanked globally, this kind of alternative data and automated decisioning is a must for empowerment.

AI is unlocking participation for millions who have been excluded from traditional financial systems. The next leap in inclusion will come from AI systems that can assess, decide, and deliver credit at scale, reliably and responsibly.

2. Ecosystems will drive the next wave

Inclusion at true scale requires the combined strength of telcos, mobile money providers, super apps, and digital banks.

As Salvador put it in context during the panel: “To create financial inclusion, it is crucial to build partnerships, create ecosystems, and deliver credit at scale.”

The most powerful models marry AI with high-trust distribution networks. When strong partnerships and the right operational ecosystems come together, financial empowerment can reach new heights—and new populations.

3. The future belongs to those who think globally, but operate locally

Optasia’s ambition is to reach an additional 130 million people within the next 3–5 years. But scaling sustainably isn’t about copying and pasting models across markets.

Africa, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia — each market requires its own data, partnerships, regulatory understanding and user-access model. Africa, with its mobile-money rails, demands a very different approach from other global regions like Southeast Asia, where super-app ecosystem rules the process. And understanding that difference is fundamental.

The next generation of inclusion leaders will be the ones who are global in vision but deeply local in execution. A new era of financial inclusion is unfolding

If there is one theme that became apparently clear during the Semafor panel, it is that the next chapter of financial inclusion will be shaped by AI-driven decisioning, embedded ecosystems, and localized growth strategies.

The companies, regulators and governments who understand these signals today will shape the financial systems serving the next three billion people. And Optasia intends to help lead that transformation.

Artykuł What the Next 3 Billion Consumers Need: 3 Signals That Will Define Financial Inclusion’s Future pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.

Bloomberg was one of the first media platforms that covered ITF announcement, emphasizing on the scale of Optasia’s IPO, “the biggest South Africa IPO in 2025”. Setting a tone of confidence, Bloomberg’s article focused on how the IPO proceeds will be deployed to drive expansion, the company’s global growth ambitions, and the strategic significance of South Africa within Optasia’s long-term vision. “Optasia plans to raise 6.3 billion rand ($365 million) selling shares in South Africa and use the proceeds to acquire companies as demand for digital finance booms” writes columnist Loni Prinsloo, spotlighting our CEO, Salvador Anglada’s insights that underscore Optasia’s ambition to scale globally and strengthen its position as a leader in AI-driven financial inclusion.

Artykuł Bloomberg: Optasia targets the biggest South Africa IPO in 2025 pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.

Reuters was also one of the top-tier media outlets that published a report soon after Optasia’s ITF announcement. The article focused on Optasia’s business activity and IPO expectations, adding CEO Salvador Anglada statement on how the IPO will allow Optasia to accelerate its growth, raise its visibility as a leading global fintech and continue innovating to expand financial opportunity where it is needed most.

Artykuł Reuters on Optasia’s ITF announcement pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.

The report from BusinessDay frames Optasia’s JSE listing as a major milestone for African fintech innovation. “If the market pays up, JSE investors will have a live benchmark for fintech economics across multiple emerging markets” argues columnist Mudiwa Gavaza, highlighting Optasia’s role as a leading AI-driven fintech providing financial services to underserved populations across emerging markets. The text emphasizes strong growth, strategic partnerships, and the significant capital-raising effort through the IPO. Setting a positive tone, Business Day portrays Optasia as a transformative player in financial inclusion with solid growth prospects and expanding global reach.

In addition, Business Day hosted Salvador Anglada to the ‘Business Day Spotlight’ podcast, where our CEO had the opportunity to share insights about the listing and the company’s growth ambitions.

Artykuł Business Day describes Optasia’s IPO as JSE’s big fintech moment pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.

Artykuł Optasia’s IPO is a landmark for financial inclusion in Africa, says Gugu Lourie at Business Day pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.

News24’s positive, forward-looking narrative focused on highlighting Optasia’s strong market position, rapid growth, and strategic expansion plans. Setting an optimistic tone, it portrays Optasia as a leading AI-powered fintech innovator driving financial inclusion across emerging markets, emphasizing key partnerships, significant revenue growth, and robust technology capabilities that underpin its competitive advantage. The text also underscores confidence in the upcoming JSE listing, hosting Salvador Anglada remarks who described the JSE as the perfect fit for the group, which is rapidly growing.

Artykuł News24 presents Optasia as a trusted, scalable platform with a clear vision pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.