South African-based fintech startup, Yoco, has completed a Series C funding round with US$83 million raised. The funds, according to the startup, would be used to scale its offerings offline and online, as well as to expand into markets beyond South Africa.
The Series C fundraising round was led by Dragoneer Investment Group, with further participations from new investors like: Breyer Capital, HOF Capital, The Raba Partnership, 4DX Ventures and TO Ventures.
Also participating in the investment round include existing investors like: Partech, Velocity Capital Fintech Ventures, Orange Ventures and Quona Capital. Investment also came in from current and former executives from global tech companies like Coinbase, Revolut, Spotify and Gojek.
Yoco, which is currently one of the most valuable startups on the continent, build tools that help small businesses accept card payments in-store and online.
The startup also provide services that help small businesses access loans, and manage their day to day financial activities.
Within 6 years of its existence, Yoco has worked with over 150,000 small businesses across South Africa, processing more than US$1 billion in card payments every year.
Yoco has altogether, raised about US$107m in its series of funding, with its Series B fundraise in 2018, worth about US$16 million.
Speaking on the recently concluded Series C fundraising round, Christian Jensen, co-head of private investments at Dragoneer, said:
“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with the Yoco team. At Dragoneer, we look for great teams that are building durable businesses with wonderful economic models, and that is exactly what we’ve found at Yoco. Yoco is already beloved by customers, and the product roadmap that the company is investing behind will drive even more value for merchants. While there is tremendous room for continued growth domestically, the opportunity for Yoco goes well beyond South Africa.”
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Yoco chief executive officer (CEO), Katlego Maphai, also made a comment about the fundraise, he said
“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. 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.”
Yoco is currently pushing its technologies into Mauritius, and plans to extend its services to one million businesses in the next four years. The startup also plans to reach markets spread across Africa, and the Middle East.
Despite being the largest payments platform in South Africa, Yoco claims it is still at the beginning of its journey.
“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,” Carl Wazen, Yoco’s chief business officer said.