Yoco, an African payments and software company, has acquired fintech and Web3 software development agency Nona Digital.
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.
According to a statement, the acquisition significantly accelerates Yoco’s roadmap by bringing a team of highly-specialised fintech product and technology professionals to join Yoco’s team.
Yoco has been a Nona client since 2019. The existing relationships, institutional knowledge and shared values the organisations have cultivated mean the Nona team can hit the ground running and accelerate the Yoco roadmap, says the company.
“We are excited to welcome Nona and its team to Yoco,” says Matshoba, CTO of Yoco.
“Nona is an industry leader behind some of the best digital banking and Web3 products, both in the region and globally. All of this makes them a great fit for the direction we are taking and the evolution of our products. After working with the team for over a year, we realised the cultural alignment between the organisations and a shared passion for creating financial products for millions of self-employed Africans made working together a no brainer.”
Last July, Yoco secured $83 million (R1.2 billion) in Series C funding, amid a surge in demand for its digital payment solutions among African small businesses.
The funding, according to the company, enabled it to accelerate the development of its financial ecosystem, which already includes online and in-store payments, business software and capital, as well as expand its market presence beyond SA.
Mike Scott, CEO of Nona, explains: “We have spent the last 10 years building an exceptional team and capability in the fintech and Web3 space. This acquisition allows us to direct everything that we have built towards a vision and mission that we believe in, and that matters. It is a natural evolution for a strong services business to move into product and we are very excited to now be part of the Yoco story.”
Yoco says it plans to be the primary financial platform for the self-employed in Africa and the Middle East, with ambitions to serve one million entrepreneurs by 2024 through its payments software and capital products.
This latest addition takes Yoco’s team up to 500 people, 50% of which are product- and technology-focused.
Yoco is increasing its talent footprint across Africa, Europe and the Middle East, and bringing entrepreneurial and experienced talent from around the world.
“We have been bringing in talent aggressively across South Africa and other markets − employing people remotely across 15 geographies, including in our talent hubs in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Amsterdam, Cairo and Dubai,” concludes Matshoba.
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