South African fintech company Yoco has raised R1.23 billion to accelerate product development and reach more merchants in South Africa and beyond.<\/p>\n
Yoco was founded in 2014 by four friends \u2014 Katlego Maphai, Carl Wazen, Bradley Wattrus, and Lungisa Matshoba.<\/p>\n
The company offers payment tools to small businesses and micro-merchants in South Africa.<\/p>\n
Its portfolio includes card machines, online payments, and business tools like the Yoco app.<\/p>\n
In October last year, Yoco launched its first standalone card machine that does not require a smart device or Bluetooth to enable payments.<\/p>\n
Dubbed the Yoco Neo, it comes with an all-day battery, a built-in SIM card, and unlimited data, which enables successful transactions without a dependency on power or Wi-Fi.<\/p>\n
The Neo\u2019s SIM card is equipped to roam and connect to the strongest available network provider and can process payments via tap, swipe, and chip-and-pin.<\/p>\n
The Neo has helped Yoco to grow its presence in South Africa further, said CEO Katlego Maphai.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, we are the preferred digital payments solution for over 150,000 small and micro merchants across South Africa, processing a billion dollars on the platform,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Yoco announced that it had a successful Series C funding round of $83 million (R1.23 billion) to accelerate product development and reach more merchants.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the largest single investment ever raised by a South African payments company and one of the largest on the continent,\u201d said Maphai.<\/p>\n
He said the pandemic had accelerated the consumer shift towards digital.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur mission is to support merchants through that transition, to ensure that they continue trading and growing. We have set ourselves a goal to reach 1 million merchants within the next four years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis new capital injection translates into an acceleration of access for small businesses in our region and beyond, bringing our vision of open commerce forward.\u201d<\/p>\n