South African fintech, Yoco Appoints New CEO as Katlego Maphai Steps Down After 10 Years

Katlego Maphai, who co-founded the South African fintech company Yoco, has stepped down as CEO after leading the business for 10 years. This is a big moment for the company because Katlego has been at the heart of Yoco since it started. Now, Yoco appoints new CEO leaders to take the company forward into its next chapter.

South African fintech Yoco appoints new CEO duo, Lungisa Matshoba and Bradley Wattrus, to lead together. Lungisa will focus on creating new ideas and growing Yoco’s products, while Bradley will concentrate on managing the company and making sure it keeps growing strong. Another co-founder, Carl Wazen, will keep looking after Yoco’s sales and business operations. This team will work together to build on the strong foundation Katlego helped create.

Katlego Maphai said stepping down was a hard decision but the right one for the company. He shared, “After a decade at the helm, I’ve made the deeply personal decision to step down as CEO of Yoco. Just over ten years ago, three friends and I set out with a simple idea: to make card payments easy for small businesses in South Africa and beyond.” He explained that the skills needed to start a company aren’t always the same ones needed to grow it to a bigger level. With this change in leadership, Yoco hopes to bring fresh energy and new ideas.

Yoco is one of the biggest fintech companies in South Africa today. It helps small businesses accept card payments, manage money, and grow their work. Small businesses make up a big part of the economy, so Yoco plays an important role. The company is worth around $700 million and serves over 200,000 businesses. Every day, more than 500 new businesses start using Yoco’s services. They also handle billions of transactions every year, showing how much people trust their systems.

This leadership change comes during a busy time for fintech companies in South Africa. The industry is growing fast, with big deals happening between companies. For example, Lesaka Technologies bought payment company Adumo for R1.5 billion last year. Bank Zero was also bought for R1.05 billion earlier this year. One of Yoco’s main rivals, iKhokha, was recently bought by Nedbank for R1.65 billion to help it grow faster. Banks like Capitec have also started new business services, making the market more competitive for Yoco.

Yoco has raised a lot of money to expand beyond South Africa. In 2021, it raised $83 million to grow its platform and offer more services to small businesses around the world. Before that, it raised $16 million in 2018 to build its business further. To support this growth, Yoco created new offices in places like Cairo and Dubai. These hubs help them hire talented people and develop new ideas outside South Africa.

Katlego Maphai will stay involved with Yoco but in a quieter role. He wants to focus on long-term projects and keep helping the company succeed. He said, “The journey has been full of ups and downs, but I’m proud of what we have built — a brand that small business owners trust, a platform that makes their work easier, and a team of nearly 400 people who believe in this mission.”

With Katlego Maphai stepping down after 10 years, Yoco appoints new CEO leaders ready to take on the challenge of growing the company even more. Lungisa Matshoba and Bradley Wattrus bring different skills to the job, and together with Carl Wazen, they want to keep making Yoco better for thousands of businesses. This fresh leadership will help Yoco stay one of the top fintech players in South Africa and continue supporting small businesses across the country and beyond.

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