Every now and then, we have the pleasure of meeting some of Durban’s most passionate entrepreneurs, so let me introduce you to the guys behind Ikhokha, Durban’s latest home-grown tech enterprise, taking the mobile pay point option to a new level and a more affordable price! These two born and bred Durban boys are now taking the market by storm.
Let me introduce Matt Puttman and Ramsay Daly, two school friends separated then reunited as if by fate. Matt and Ramsay both grew up in Westville and attended Hilton High School, even though they matriculated in different years, they stayed friends and still partied hard. Finishing at different times eventually lead the two to part ways, where by chance they ran into each other in a London bar. After a UK stint, they headed back home to South Africa.
After an article about Square in the US based Fortune magazine caught the boys interests, the guys realised that there was a potential gap in the SA market. This is where it gets really interesting, with absolutely zero experience in the industry (they were making a living playing online poker and working in a call centre respectively) they began to set out and learn everything they could about app development through to the red tape and certification around making and receiving online payments. Sounds easy? Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it’s not.
In South Africa, it is extremely difficult for small businesses to get capital from banks for start-up purposes (I speak from experience on this!). The guys had a working rudimentary prototype as well as the app platform (Outsourced to India for development and better pricing). Unfortunately they needed to survive and Ramsay headed down to Cape Town to work for a digital agency while Matt continued to play poker online. The two kept in contact and never let the project die.
By chance, Ramsay bumped into an old friend, who then introduced them to venture capitalists and potential investors. After a few tough pitches, the guys got the first phase of funding they needed to get going, and they did!
The concept is simple, all the business owner needs to have is a mobile device and he or she can take payments buy card, anywhere, anytime. The system also has reconciliation software to track the payments and best of all, they have one of the most competitive rates in the industry. As a business owner, you can get all this for a nominal fee (Once off or monthly) and you will be setup and ready to go in 5 days, no banks queues, no annoying “additional fees”, no waiting on the banks call centre only to be passed from agent to agent, just effortless setup.
Something iKhokha pride themselves in as well is customer service. You can pick up the phone or drop them an email and they get back to you, something the other big players really need to work on! And that’s not all, the guys have some amazing Plans for iKhokha which will continue to see the offer evolve and challenge the financial services sector in a way that is long overdue. This is definitely a case of watch this space!
To sum up, I think their intro statement says it all: “iKhokha is for anybody and everybody. Whether in an office, a store or on the move, iKhokha is for anyone needing to accept debit and credit card payments from customers, clients or patients.”
Feel free to check them out here:
https://www.ikhokha.com/
https://www.facebook.com/iKhokha