Card acceptance solutions provider Yoco has raised $16m in a series B funding round.
The company aims to increase its network of users across the country.
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The financing was led by venture capital firm Partech. Orange Digital Ventures, the Dutch Development Bank FMO, FutureGrowth, Quona Capital and Velocity Capital also joined the funding round.
Started in 2015, Yoco offers a card reader that is designed to turn a smartphone or tablet into payment terminals.
According to the firm, South Africa has a card penetration rate of 75% but only 7% of small businesses in the country accept card payments.
Yoco targets this customer base and increased its clientele since the series A funding round held in the first quarter of last year.
The company is said to currently have 27,000 merchants on its platform and is adding nearly 1,500 per month.
Apart from growing the network of small merchants, the company also intends to use the new funds for product development and attract talent.
Yoco co-founder and CEO Katlego Maphai said: “Small businesses, fundamental to sustainable economic growth, are generally underserved in our part of the world due to their size. Running a business is hard enough, we believe accepting money shouldn’t be.
“Our series B investment allows us to continue to scale our operations and deliver a world-class product experience that enables small businesses to thrive.”
