Futuregrowth the first SA institutional investor in payments disruptor Yoco

JOHANNESBURG — Yoco, the makers of a card reader device that connects with a merchant’s smartphone or tablet, has raised a Series B round of US$16m (R230m) led by Partech, a venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley and including the likes of South African-based Futuregrowth. Yoco is a fascinating local business as it only started in 2015 but has managed to grow its base to over 27 000 South African small businesses, 75% of which had never accepted cards previously. In this interview with Amrish Narrandes, an investment analyst at Futuregrowth, and Carl Wazen, who is the co-founder of sale payments provider Yoco; the pair tell us all about the latest capital raising round. - Gareth van Zyl