Yoco, South African payments and software startup has secured US $83 million in Series C funding

Yoco creates tools and services to assist small companies with accepting credit card payments in-store and online, obtaining loans, and managing their daily operations. In less than six years, the firm has grown to become the chosen payment partner for over 150,000 small companies throughout South Africa, processing over $1 billion in card payments annually.

The business raised US$16 million in a Series B investment in late 2018, and it has now raised US$83 million in a Series C financing. Yoco will be able to accelerate the development of its financial ecosystem for small companies and expand its market presence beyond South Africa as a result of this investment, which brings the startup’s total capital raised to US$107 million.

Yoco plans to grow throughout Africa and the Middle East, with an aim of reaching one million merchants in the next four years. Its innovations are presently being tested in Mauritius, with intentions to expand to another nation by the start of next year.

Dragoneer Investment Group, which has previously supported fintech heavyweights including Chime, Nubank, Mercado Libre, Square, and Klarna, is one of the company’s new investors. Breyer Capital, HOF Capital, The Raba Partnership, 4DX Ventures, TO Ventures, and numerous current and former executives from global digital heavyweights including Coinbase, Revolut, Spotify, and Gojek are also participating in the round.

Existing Yoco investors Partech, Velocity Capital Fintech Ventures, Orange Ventures, and Quona Capital also participated in the round.

Yoco’s CEO, Katlego Maphai, stated that the successful completion of this financing speaks volumes about the African small company sector’s development potential.

“We are excited to partner with such world-class investors who have joined our quest to break barriers and create access to financial services for millions of small businesses across the continent,” he said. “Looking ahead, this investment will unlock capacity for us to accelerate product development for our merchants and continue on our growth trajectory in South Africa and beyond.”

Carl Wazen, Yoco’s CEO, said Yoco is still in the early stages of the trip, albeit it is South Africa’s largest payment platform.

“There are over six million small businesses in South Africa and well over 100 million across the Middle East and Africa that still transact only in cash. Recent consumer behaviour shows a shift away from cash and businesses have to rapidly adapt to this change. This presents a huge opportunity and it is our mission to support that transition,” he said.

Yoco intends to extend its workforce by 200 individuals over the following year to support the company’s development objectives. The firm has already attracted outstanding talents, including the former Product Manager at Monzo, iZettle/previous PayPal’s Product Manager and Uber’s former communications manager. A new chairman – former managing director of Pagseguro, Juan Fuentes, was also taken on board. This firm became a US$19 billion Brazilian payment powerhouse.

“Working so closely with small businesses during a global pandemic, and in particular through a challenging socio-economic environment in South Africa, we have a first-hand account of how agile these businesses need to be in a rapidly changing world,” said Maphai. “Removing barriers and levelling the playing field by creating access to financial tools is a big part of answering these challenges. Yoco is at the forefront of solving what is critical for small businesses and enabling them to thrive. This new capital injection translates into an acceleration of access for small businesses in our region and beyond, bringing our vision of open commerce forward,”