South African fintech company Yoco has appointed Carsten Höltkemeyer as its new chief executive officer, as the business prepares for its next stage of growth.
The appointment takes effect from 1 June 2026 and follows a global search process that began after co-founder Katlego Maphai stepped down from the CEO role nine months ago.
Yoco said Höltkemeyer brings extensive experience from the fintech and banking sectors, having previously held leadership roles at Solaris, Barclays, and Royal Bank of Scotland. The company said his background in scaling product-focused financial businesses made him a strong fit for Yoco’s future plans.
During the transition period, co-founders Lungisa Matshoba and Bradley Wattrus served as co-CEOs. Both will now return to their previous positions, with Matshoba continuing as chief product and technology officer and Wattrus resuming his role as chief financial officer.
Co-founder Carl Wazen will remain chief business officer, while Maphai will continue supporting the company’s strategic direction.
Speaking about the appointment, Höltkemeyer said he was drawn to Yoco’s mission of supporting small and independent businesses across South Africa.
He described independent businesses as an important part of the country’s economy and said Yoco had built a strong platform to support their growth.
Founded in 2015, Yoco first became known for its mobile card payment machines aimed at helping small businesses accept digital payments more easily. Since then, the company has expanded into a wider range of financial and business services.
Yoco said it now serves more than 200,000 merchants, processes roughly 30 million card payments each year, and has provided billions of rand in funding to businesses.
The company’s next growth phase will focus on building a broader commerce platform that combines payments, point-of-sale systems, business funding, and artificial intelligence-powered tools into a single ecosystem for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Yoco added that its founders will remain actively involved in developing products and guiding innovation as the company expands beyond payments into a more complete business platform.
