SA Travel Fintech TurnStay Secures $300,000 in Funding to Revolutionize African Travel Sector
TurnStay, a fintech startup based in South Africa and specializing in the travel sector, has successfully raised $300,000 from investors based in Silicon Valley and New York, specifically DFS Lab and DCG. This new capital injection is set to fuel the company’s expansion across Africa and build upon its early successes.
Founded by seasoned entrepreneurs Alon Stern, co-founder of Slide Financial, and James Hedley, co-founder of Quicket, TurnStay is dedicated to significantly lowering the payment processing costs for African merchants and platforms within the travel and tourism industry. The company leverages the same advanced techniques used by the largest global booking companies to achieve these cost reductions.
Stephen Deng, General Partner at DFS Lab, expressed strong support for TurnStay’s mission: “TurnStay is developing a critical solution for the African travel and tourism sector. Their platform promises considerable cost savings for hospitality businesses throughout the continent, offering much-needed financial relief and efficiency.”
This strategic funding aims to enhance TurnStay’s capabilities and expand its reach, providing African travel merchants with the tools to compete on a global scale by reducing transaction costs and improving payment processes.
“We believe the founders are the perfect team to tackle this opportunity, combining deep industry experience with a proven history of shipping market-leading products.
“DFS Lab backs founders who use tech to redefine what’s possible in African digital commerce. TurnStay not only fills a critical niche, but we believe what they’re building will raise the bottom line for the African travel and tourism industry.”
According to TurnStay CEO Alon Stern, “Securing funding from these US investors is a vote of confidence in our business model, which has already processed more than R50 million in transactions. TurnStay creates a localised payment experience, charging clients in their home currency using familiar payment methods when booking accommodation. TurnStay’s solution has reduced costs for some clients by 70% and halved the number of unnecessary failed transactions. With a better checkout experience, sales conversion rates soar.”
Getting paid in the travel sector can be costly due to payment costs and fees imposed by online travel agents.
“The average merchant spends 12% of revenue on getting paid – often, this can be the difference between making a profit or a loss and dramatically affects the viability of many businesses in a sector that employs over six million people in Africa,” explains James Hedley, founder of TurnStay.
Source: iTWEB
