Yoco Secures $100M Credit Facility from Victory Park Capital
South African fintech platform Yoco secures a landmark $100 million private credit facility from global asset manager Victory Park Capital to scale Yoco Capital and bring merchant cash advances directly onto its balance sheet.
Yoco CEO Carsten Holtkemeyer (center) pictured alongside the founding team members, Lungisa Matshoba, Katlego Maphai, Carl Wazen, and Bradley Wattrus.
CAPE TOWN — South African small-business fintech platform Yoco has secured a $100 million credit facility from Chicago-headquartered private credit investor Victory Park Capital (VPC).
The facility will be deployed through Yoco Capital, the company's embedded finance arm, marking one of the largest dedicated merchant cash advance debt raises in African fintech history. The facility gives Yoco direct control over its balance sheet lending and underwriting framework for the first time at scale, enabling the platform to expand working capital advances across its network of more than 200,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Yoco operates an integrated payment and operating system for independent businesses across South Africa's retail,hospitality, and service sectors:
Historical Track Record: Since launching its merchant advance pilot in 2018 via third-party credit partners, Yoco has disbursed over R6.5 billion ($360 million) in working capital to more than 40,000 merchants, maintaining profitable loan cohorts without a single loss-making cohort through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Automated Credit Engine: Uses real-time point-of-sale transaction data, card tap volumes, and daily revenue metrics to generate automated, pre-approved funding offers within the Yoco app. The model requires no formal loan application or collateral, disbursing capital instantly and collecting automated daily repayments via a fixed percentage of merchant sales.
Advance Sizing: Provides flexible working capital disbursements ranging from R2,000 ($110) to R1.5 million ($83,000) per merchant to fund inventory stock-ups, equipment upgrades, payroll expansion, and new location launches.
Market Context & Capital Structure
The debt allocation targets South Africa’s persistent MSME financing deficit:
Addressable Credit Gap: According to the Finfind and African Bank MSME Access to Finance Report, South Africa’s small business funding gap stands at approximately R350 billion ($19.3 billion), with formal banking institutions directing only 13% of national lending to SMEs compared to 51% to large corporations.
Strategic Evolution: Following its recent acquisition of Dyner and ongoing software updates unveiled at Yoco Next, the credit facility transitions Yoco from a payment processing processor into an AI-powered operating system that directly controls pricing, risk, and product distribution.
Executive Commentary
"We've spent a decade building an operating system that runs a merchant's whole business, payments, point of sale, and now the decisions in between. Financing was the one layer we didn't fully control. This facility changes that." — Carsten Holtkemeyer, CEO of Yoco
"Yoco has a proven track record of supporting the operating needs of small and independent businesses. We're supportive of Yoco's mission to expand access to flexible financing solutions for South African entrepreneurs." — Jason Brown, Senior Partner at Victory Park Capital
Transaction Advisory
Credit Facility Provider: Victory Park Capital Advisors, LLC (VPC).
