Optasia loses some of its sparkle

Fintech start-up Optasia attracted a lot of attention when it listed in November 2025, hailed as the largest company to debut on the JSE in years.

It checked all the right boxes: a financial enterprise operating in the technology space, backed by well-known entrepreneurs, attracting billions of rand in investment from one of SA’s largest banks, and with management promising phenomenal growth.

Optasia raised R6.5 billion when it listed and started its journey on the JSE at around R20 per share.

But the share price fell sharply from its high of nearly R22.50 in February, dropping 40% to a low of R13.33 in the last week of June.

It has since recovered, but the current price of below R15 is still nearly 30% lower than at listing.

Management reiterated in a recent update that its prospects are still positive. In its interim trading update for the six months to end June 2026, the group said it was “pleased” to report a strong financial performance in the first half of its financial year.

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It said its micro-financing services (MFS) and airtime credit services (ACS) continued to grow, supported by the benefits of its geographic and product diversification strategy.

“MFS now represents approximately 72% of revenues, continuing to be the primary growth driver,” according to the trading update.

“Performance during the period was underpinned by robust growth across a number of markets, including Ghana, Pakistan, Indonesia and Congo-Brazzaville, which helped offset the impact of the temporary ACS disruption in Nigeria.”

The directors said they “believe this performance demonstrates the resilience of Optasia’s platform and the strength of the group’s diversified operating model”.

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Read: Optasia secures more than $300m in syndicated refinancing

Based on preliminary management accounts for the six months ended 30 June 2026, Optasia expects revenue growth of between 50% and 60% in the first six months of the current year compared to the same period in the previous year, and that normalised net income will increase by 30% to 40%.

The group also launched three new deployments and expanded into two new markets, Gabon and South Sudan.

Challenges

However, there have been challenges. In April, the Nigerian government disallowed cellular companies from offering airtime on credit – the very small loans to consumers who did not have enough money to purchase airtime.

These small loans only resumed in June, temporarily.

Optasia said in another announcement that the underlying regulations governing ACS “remain suspended pending the outcome of the ongoing legal proceedings”.

Optasia said it continues to support the restoration of the service, which provides an important means of access to connectivity for millions of consumers in Nigeria.

It also informed the market that one of its non-executive directors had resigned, and the person nominated to replace the director decided not to accept the appointment to the board at the last minute.

Some good news

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There was, however, good news to counter the first signs of concern about the share’s high rating of 22 times earnings – particularly for an unknown new company chasing small amounts in every transaction in weak African currencies.

FirstRand announced that it had increased its stake in Optasia to 26% after acquiring an additional 6% for nearly R1.5 billion.

It acquired its initial 20% stake when Optasia listed in November 2025.

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A press release detailing the transaction said 74.1 million shares were acquired at R20 each from an entity owned by one of Optasia’s founders, non-executive director Bassim Haidar.

Unit trusts selling … and buying

It is telling that unit trusts had been selling large batches of the share during the first quarter of 2026, when it was still trading at between R18 and R20.

ProfileData statistics show that units trusts were net sellers of 16.6 million Optasia shares between end December 2025 and end March 2026.

Ninety One unit trusts, which at the end of December included some of the company’s largest unit-trust shareholders, sold millions of shares. The Ninety One Equity Fund disposed of its entire holding of about 3.5 million Optasia shares, while the Ninety One SA Equity Fund also sold a big chunk.

Several unit trusts managed by 36One Asset Management, Bateleur Capital and Investec also sold millions of shares, with some exiting their Optasia positions entirely.

Read: Bankers rake in up to R416m in Optasia JSE listing

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In contrast, the Nedgroup Investments Opportunity Fund emerged as a major shareholder, buying a further one million shares to increase its holding to 11.7 million shares. By the end of March, it was the unit trust with the largest holding in Optasia.

Justin Hollis, head of equities at Abax Investments, which manages the Nedgroup Investments Opportunity Fund, says the fund still sees Optasia as a growth story.

“The key market debate on Optasia is the magnitude and durability of revenue and earnings growth given Nigeria headwinds and MTN partner risk. Views on this issue separate cautious from constructive views.

“In our perspective, Optasia represents one of the highest growth stories on the JSE,” says Hollis.

“The company has recently guided to a strong first half result (adjusted earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation growing 40% to 50%) and reaffirmed their guidance for financial 2026.

“The first-half performance demonstrates that Optasia’s geographic and product diversification has absorbed the challenges faced in Nigeria, with micro-financing solutions (MFS) being the primary growth driver (72% of group revenue).”

He says the “occasional regulatory hiccup” in Africa is not unexpected, with all telecommunications operators having already resumed airtime credit services in Nigeria.

“Despite our forecast of strong earnings growth over the medium term, the share has languished (decreasing 35% since the end of January 2026). It offers compelling value.”

Hollis also points to recent announcements, published in accordance with JSE regulations, that the chief executive and other directors had purchased large batches of shares.

“The CEO’s share purchases signal insider conviction, with [the increase in] FirstRand’s stake validating the platform’s strategic value across Africa.”

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