Payments and software firm Yoco says it aims to increase its tech employee pool by 200 people within the coming year, after the recent funding boost of $83 million (R1.2 billion) from both new and existing investors.
Founded by entrepreneurs Katlego Maphai, Carl Wazen, Lungisa Matshoba and Bradley Wattrus in 2015, Yoco builds tools and financial services to help SMEs get paid, run their business better and accept payments from customers.
The e-commerce boom in the wake of the pandemic resulted in the company garnering 150 000 merchant customers, which have processed more than $1 billion in payments through its card machines and online payment services across SA.
As a result, the fintech firm says it has big plans to continue to deepen its market presence in SA and expand into the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region over the next two years.
Experiencing rapid growth, the company says it looking to hire more employees across business verticals, with an emphasis on the technology roles.
Yoco has already attracted top talent to its executive ranks from companies such as Monzo, PayPal and Uber, as well as new chairman of its board Juan Fuentes, former MD of Pagseguro, a business that he grew into a $19 billion payments giant in Brazil.
“At Yoco, we continue to focus on developing our people and growing our diverse team. We are excited to expand this to talented individuals across MEA who share our passion and commitment to accelerating the development of our products,” says Cindy Prodgers, recruitment lead at Yoco.
The new employees will join its team of developers, artists, connectors and enablers who have been building purpose-driven careers, as Yoco continues to drive financial inclusion and lower the barriers of entry for small businesses.
Since launching, Yoco has expanded to set up stores and offices in Johannesburg, Durban and Pretoria.
The company says it has played a crucial role in enabling financial inclusion among local merchants, with around 80% of its customer base having never accepted card payments before.
Yoco says it is looking to pave the way for small, independent businesses in the MEA region, that were previously cash-only due to the complexity and high costs of existing digital alternatives.
During the last year, Yoco launched a suite of products designed to simplify the process of setting up and facilitating payments for small businesses, including Payment Page, Payment Request, Yoco Neo and most recently the Yoco Payment Gateway – a plug-and-play solution that enables businesses to merge their online and card-present transactions to provide a holistic view of their business via the Yoco Business Portal.
Yoco chief business officer Wazen points out that the goal is to reach at least a million merchants within the next four years.
“There are over six million small businesses in SA and well over 100 million across the MEA 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.”
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