South Africa's Yoco grew from card‑machine startup to platform serving 200,000 merchants
According to TechCabal, TechCabal chronicles Yoco’s evolution from a 2015 launch with a single card reader to a payments platform that now supports about 200,000 small businesses across South Africa, highlighting early funding, banking partnership and rapid merchant growth.
What happened
Yoco was founded in 2013 by Carl Wazen, Katlego Maphai, Lungisa Matshoba and Bradley Wattrus and launched in October 2015 after a beta with over 500 merchants. The company raised an initial $560,000 angel round, secured a partnership with Mercantile Bank, and grew to 5,000 merchants by the end of 2016. Subsequent growth included a 10‑fold increase in 2016, the 2019 launch of a cheaper card machine (Yoco Go) that attracted 15,000 merchants in one month, and expansion to about 200,000 small businesses by 2026. The founders remain involved in various…
Why it matters
Yoco’s trajectory illustrates how a locally‑built fintech can overcome banking‑partner hurdles, raise early angel capital, and scale to serve a large base of South African SMEs, highlighting the importance of accessible digital payments for economic inclusion on the continent.
What to watch
Watch for implementation details, financial terms, measurable operating outcomes and follow-on announcements from the organizations involved.
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