.
Image: LinkedIn
More than a decade after co-founding Yoco and helping transform how small businesses in South Africa accept payments, Katlego Maphai is stepping down as CEO of the fintech company he helped build from the ground up.
Maphai launched Yoco in 2013 alongside co-founders Lungisa Matshoba, Bradley Wattrus, and Carl Wazen, with a simple but ambitious idea: to make card payments accessible to small and informal businesses that had long been excluded from the financial system.
At the time, accepting card payments required navigating complex bureaucracy and high fees, obstacles that kept many small merchants locked out. Yoco’s mobile card machines and digital platform cut through those barriers, opening up access to digital payments for entrepreneurs across the country.
Today, Yoco has become a household name.
The company serves more than 200,000 businesses, and according to a statement, processes billions of rands in payments each year.
But for Maphai, Yoco’s impact can’t be measured by transaction volumes alone.
“What I’m most proud of is that we sparked a movement, showing that small businesses are not just part of the economy, they are the economy,” he said.
Maphai’s decision to step down marks a major leadership transition for one of South Africa’s most prominent tech companies. He described the move as “deeply personal” and said it followed months of reflection on what Yoco needs to succeed in its next phase of growth.
“The skills and energy needed to start and build a company are not always the same as those required to scale it,” he noted.
While Maphai will no longer run day-to-day operations, he will remain closely involved as a founder, focusing on long-term strategy and initiatives designed to strengthen Yoco’s impact.
In a founder-led succession plan, Yoco will now be jointly led by two of its co-founders. Matshoba will serve as co-CEO, overseeing innovation and product growth, while Wattrus will take on co-CEO responsibilities focused on governance and scalability. Wazen will continue to lead the company’s go-to-market and commercial operations.
Industry observers say the transition underscores Yoco’s emphasis on continuity as it scales its business across Africa. The company has steadily expanded its suite of payment and business tools in recent years, positioning itself as a “home for entrepreneurs” on the continent.
Since its founding, Yoco has grown to nearly 400 employees and has become a symbol of what homegrown innovation can achieve in South Africa’s tech ecosystem. For Maphai, the leadership change represents both an ending and a beginning.
“This journey has been extraordinary, full of highs and lows, resilience, and growth,” he reflected. “I’m proud of the brand we’ve built, the platform we’ve created, and the team that powers it.”
He added that stepping back allows him to focus on where he can add the most value: “creating space to continue contributing in ways that leverage my strengths as a founder and builder.”
As Yoco turns the page, Maphai remains optimistic about what lies ahead for the company and for the entrepreneurs it serves.
“Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of our economy,” he said. “That conviction has always been at the core of Yoco, and it’s what will keep pushing us forward.”
With a new leadership structure in place and its founding vision intact, Yoco is now preparing for its next chapter: scaling its impact and deepening its role as the go-to platform for small businesses in Africa.