Technology payment solutions, like those offered by iKhokha, create opportunities for SMMEs.
Are business owners likely to see a return to normal in 2022?
Critical to South Africa’s economy, small, medium, and micro-sized businesses (SMMES) have taken immense strain over the past few years as an already tough economic environment was followed by months of Covid lockdowns.
Heading into 2022, analysts predict that soon many developed markets and emerging markets may be able to return to “normal”. As Covid risks reduce with the increased rollout of vaccinations, governments can adopt more flexible Covid policies to manage the virus, hopefully reducing border shutdowns and other lockdown measures in the year ahead.
Fitch Solutions forecasts that the global economy will grow 4.1% - above the pre-pandemic 3.1% rate - and Sub-Saharan Africa is to remain steady at 3.6%. While there is some light at the end of the Covid tunnel, supply chain challenges, inflation and geopolitical tensions make for a complex global picture.
SMEs will need all the support they can get in revitalising their businesses and using technology to reach more customers and improve efficiencies.
An in-depth McKinsey SME report found that “post the Covid-19 crisis more than 65 percent of payments will be done using cards or means requiring POS devices; a significant drive from financial institutions can help drive uptake and readiness in businesses.”
As more people shift to digital payments over cash, local fintech iKhokha is well positioned to support SMEs in growing their businesses and at lower costs. In the month of December 2021, iKhokha processed north of R1.2billion in card volume – and are up more than 100% year on year from a transactional volume perspective, highlighting the significant adoption of digital payments.
“iKhokha has been focused on building out a true omnichannel offering, with both online and in person digital payment solutions for SME’s. We have also ensured that merchants using our payment solutions for both card present and online payments will get the lowest combined transaction rates in SA” says Graeme Cumming, iKhokha Chief Growth Officer.
Over and above card devices, iKhokha recently launched the Payment Gateway for the WooCommerce and WordPress platforms, with Wix and other popular website builder platforms to follow soon, allowing SME’s to set up online payments quickly.
As a South African founded business, they value staying close to their merchants to ensure they are addressing real business owner needs. This has resulted in a recent revamp of their Mobile Application, with a major focus on improving the usability, and introducing new features, including important enablers such as the ability to send Pay Links, and manage transactions faster.
“At iKhokha we know how important the role is we have to play in reigniting the GDP growth of our country, and how pivotal it is for us to lead the way in giving SMEs across SA a digital footprint and the tools they need to accelerate their growth,’ says Matt Putman, iKhokha CEO.