South Africa-founded fintech firm Yoco hosted their annual Yoco Next event in Braamfontein. Johannesburg last week, to convene its network of entrepreneurs and small business owners.
The hybrid event this year focused on how small business is thriving in South Africa with the innovative ways available for them to get paid in-person and online, and new products in Yoco’s lineup were also announced.
New Products at Yoco
Julia Redelinghuys, Group Product Manager for Online Payments at Yoco announced the launch of new additions to its online product suite, mainly Invoices, Woocommerce and a Shopify plug-in.
The company claims that the online payment suite enables entrepreneurs to securely accept online payments, as well as easily track and reconcile all invoices and payments whether in-person or online. Each solution is designed with specific use cases in mind.
“We are finding powerful ways to provide our customers with affordable options that meet their customers. When entrepreneurs sign up with Yoco, they get access to Yoco Gateway, Woocommerce, Yoco Link, and Yoco Vouchers and they have the ability to tailor payment solutions to however they get paid. It’s our vision to be multi-product, and a large part of my role is moving Yoco to this point” adds Redelinghuys.
Yoco Gateway is a payments gateway that can be set up in 5 minutes to accept card and instant EFT payments right to your website of choice.
Woocommerce is a customizable, open-source eCommerce platform that is built on WordPress and comes with a curated website that helps users create their platforms however they envision it.
Yoco Vouchers is a method to exchange gift vouchers digitally and Yoco Link is a new method where users can accept payments online without needing a website through payment hyperlinks being sent and received via the Yoco App.
How Yoco is Transforming
Yoco’s CEO and Co-founder Katlego Maphai delved into the company’s growth unpacking the reasoning behind their new suite of products, designed to drive the shift to a multiproduct platform approach for customers, in order to meet the fast-changing needs of their businesses.
“The past few months have been very busy, and we have grown immensely in many ways. Yoco’s core customer is a diverse and fluid group of people with a unique set of circumstances. In order for us to truly serve them, the company needed to think about all the tools and services they might need in their unique circumstances, and this is why Yoco has evolved from a physical card machine to a multi-product business design to meet our customer’s needs at various points”, says Maphai.
As part of the event, Yoco collaborated with Laduma Ngxokolo, Founder and Designer for MaXhosa, who was a key speaker and designer for the gift bags and collateral for the event. Ngxokolo’s session was followed by an inspirational fireside chat with Marea Lewis; one of Yoco customers and founder of Toasted, a women-led community and collaboration space that boasts the best-toasted sandwiches, casual dining, co-working, eventing and collaboration between like-minded small businesses.
Mmaphuthi Morule, Head of Brand at Yoco says, “We are obsessed with entrepreneurial growth and supporting small businesses – this can be done through collabs like these. Starting and growing a business does not have to be a solitary journey, it is important to recognise the thriving underdogs in business, and it’s just as critical to support and celebrate these people in business and we do this by working together.”
Last year, Yoco launched its smartest card machine yet, the Yoco Khumo, which was built for merchants with merchants, to grow with the merchants – and when they thought it couldn’t get any smarter, the Khumo Print was launched, officially outstripping the Khumo of its supremely speedy title.
Designed for more sophisticated businesses, the card machine comes with staff switching and product catalogues, which are added features to the Khumo device, along with its ability to print receipts.
Edited by Luis Monzon
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