TurnStay, a travel-focused fintech from South Africa, has secured R5.4 million ($300,000) from U.S. venture capital firms DFS Lab and Digital Currency Group (DCG). This new funding will help TurnStay expand across Africa and strengthen its position in the local market.
Alon Stern, TurnStay’s co-founder, said that the investment shows the investors’ confidence in the company’s business model. He explained that TurnStay offers a localised payment experience, allowing clients to pay in their home currency using familiar methods when booking accommodation. This service has cut costs for some clients by 70% and halved unnecessary failed transactions, leading to higher sales conversion rates.
Stern and James Hedley, co-founder of the ticketing platform Quicket, started TurnStay in 2021 to tackle the high cost of payment processing in Africa’s travel and tourism industry. Hedley highlighted that merchants often spend 12% of their revenue just to get paid, which can mean the difference between profit and loss. This expense impacts the viability of many businesses in an industry employing over six million people in Africa.
TurnStay’s technology and API integration reduce these costs by up to 70%, helping businesses attract more direct bookings and avoid hefty commissions paid to online travel agencies. This improvement directly boosts the profitability of travel and tourism enterprises across the continent.
Additionally, TurnStay simplifies payment procedures for international travellers by using a global network of compliant companies. This ensures secure and efficient transactions, allowing customers to pay in their local currency using familiar methods.
The African travel and tourism market is expected to reach a revenue of $24.42 billion by 2024, with an annual growth rate of 4.98%, resulting in a market volume of $29.66 billion by 2028.
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