South African mobile payments start-up iKhokha is disrupting the Fintech market, going against banks in a bid to empower thousands of businesses across South Africa.
Founded in 2012 by Ballito locals, Matt Putman and Ramsay Daly, iKhokha provides small and medium-sized businesses with user-friendly, affordable Point of Sale (POS) solutions.
These include card machines, cash registers, POS software and more, all of which make it easier for organisations to formalise their businesses, increase sales, and minimise risks.
With iKhokha, small and medium-sized businesses can get a card machine, allowing them to accept debit and credit cards on-the-go, with no monthly fees.
According to iKhokha Sales Manager, Dylan Skewis, beyond enabling small business to operate with a card machine, small businesses that use iKhokha often experience a massive boost in sales.
What’s more is that any kind of business can use iKhokha including retailers, restaurants, bars, taverns, hair and beauty salons, spaza shops, doctors and other medical practitioners, and even clowns for kid’s parties.
What makes iKhokha different
Apart from the awesome support that iKhokha offers, the biggest difference with them is that once you buy one of their machines, it’s yours to keep – there are zero monthly rental fees and no lock-in contracts.
Since the start, iKhokha has done things differently! Instead of focusing on expensive ads, it primarily focuses on investing in relationships with its merchants and negotiating better transaction rates with its banking partners.
As a result, iKhokha offers the lowest standard transaction rates in South Africa.
iKhokha is now also the first business in the country to sell electricity and prepaid airtime in spaza shops.
iKhokha’s rebrand
To further entrench its difference in a highly competitive market, iKhokha has recently gone through a rebrand that strongly positions the company as a thought-leader and major player in the fintech space.
iKhokha’s evolved brand identity reflects the company’s growth through the shape of the new logo which also works well as an icon, making it easy to identify on all social media platforms.
They also have a new tagline: ‘We make it easier.’ According to the company, the new tagline reflects their core purpose, which is making things easier in the workplace.
“We know all too well that running a business isn’t always a smooth ride, which is why this is our new tagline. Making it easier for our customers is also exactly what we do, and what we have always done. We’re very proud of that fact,” said iKhokha.
Even the new style of photography for all of iKhokha’s communication has a raw honesty about it.
The iKhokha team and their work environment
The company has a small team with a broad skill scope, who all work together to provide entrepreneurs with the tools to grow their businesses.
“Our mission is to democratise and grow entrepreneurship through mobile innovation,” said iKhokha.
iKhokha also follows a customer-centric approach, which is central to their work philosophy. “We believe in agile cross-functional teams and driving experimentation in all aspects of our business, and with a multi-skilled, collaborative team that is driven by passion and diversity, we aim to disrupt the norm,” said iKhokha.
