Yesterday we attended the very exciting launch of Yoco Next in Johannesburg at the Victoria Yards (a very cool collection of small businesses in a beautifully curated setting, if you haven't been - go!)
More than 20 new products and features and a major rate cut were announced by Yoco's leadership team, alongside a first look at Yoco AI, the company's upcoming AI agent, marking Yoco's shift from payments provider to full smart commerce platform.
The launch of Yoco Next!
For years, independent businesses, which power 40% of South Africa's economy, have run on tools never built for them: generic, disconnected, designed for big business and watered down for small. Yoco started by solving access to payments. Today, it's giving independent businesses an unfair advantage: a smart commerce platform that moves them from survival into growth.
"Yoco started by giving independent businesses access to payments. Today, we're giving them the tools that used to belong only to big business, at a price built for small business. We call it the unfair advantage," said Carl Wazen, Yoco Chief Business Officer.
There were some incredibly inspirational stories and insights shared and, of course, great coffee!!
Yoco AI: intelligence democratised
Yoco believes AI shouldn't be reserved for big businesses with data teams. For independent businesses operating in constant volatility on thin margins, insight isn't a luxury, it's survival.
Less than a month after announcing its acquisition of Dyner.ai, Yoco today revealed Yoco AI, its first AI agent for independent businesses, coming soon. Yoco AI will learn each business's own sales patterns, costs, and staffing, flagging what's happening and what to do next, before the owner even has to ask.
Yoco Loyalty
Yoco Loyalty, South Africa's first broad-based, card-linked loyalty programme for independent businesses, rewards customers automatically every time they tap. No app, no punchcard, no setup. 1 in 3 customers that visit Yoco food & beverage merchants are coming back at least twice a month, and now, that loyalty can be recognised and rewarded.
Yoco Connect: ending the fragmentation tax
The average South African small business operates across 8+ disconnected apps just to get through the week. Yoco Connect brings accounting, ecommerce, bookings, inventory, and loyalty into one place. In fact, it’s already powering over 500 merchants on its Xero integration alone.
Yoco is also opening up its platform. The Yoco Developer Hub already has 50+ third-party apps in active use, and the new Yoco MCP Server connects AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT directly to a merchant's account, turning plain conversation into payment links, refunds, and reconciliation.
Rodney (Kohi@ifuku) and Leroy (Home of the Bean) were there!
Industry Modes: Built for how each industry actually works
Yoco also launched four new industry modes for its point-of-sale solution: F&B Counter Service, F&B Table Service, Retail, and Beauty & Services, each with features built for that industry, from tableside ordering on Yoco's card machines to appointment management for services-based merchants.
Independent businesses are the economy in motion
Today's announcements come as the macro picture remains challenging for South African entrepreneurs. In a recent Yoco survey, 46% of independent business owners said they feel less confident than at the start of the year, and 51% said consumer spending pressure has hit their confidence further.
It was a fantastic day out with the Yoco Family, and we're excited to share the new Yoco tools with the rest of the coffee industry in the coming weeks!
Yoco's view, shaped by its network of 200,000 merchants, is that independent businesses aren't peripheral to the economy, they are the economy in motion. With today's launch, Yoco is betting on something clear: independent businesses don't need more tools.
They need the right platform, one built for their world, where every minute counts and visibility is the difference between absorbing pressure and moving through it.
