By Vicky Sidler | Published 25 June 2025 at 12:00 GMT

If you’ve ever wondered whether small businesses can really change an economy, here’s your answer: 173 million transactions, R500 million in growth, and over 200,000 entrepreneurs proving the point—loudly.

That’s what Yoco’s 2025 Exchange Report just revealed. And while those numbers might sound like something only a national chain could brag about, it’s local small business owners doing the heavy lifting. Armed with digital tools, decent timing, and a serious appetite for brunch, they’re not just staying afloat—they’re building something big.

TL;DR

South African entrepreneurs are turning digital smarts into serious results. Here’s the cheat sheet:

• 200k+ small business owners = R500m growth

• Retail and food sectors lead the charge

• Digital adoption (POS, e-commerce, data) is the real game-changer

• Want to catch the wave? Focus on timing, digital-first thinking, and smart financing.

The R500 Million Question: What’s Driving All This Growth?

Yoco’s report spotlights a wave of small business growth that’s more than just impressive—it’s strategic. Retail businesses alone contributed R74 million in growth, thanks to smart use of digital tools like Yoco POS and Gateway.

• In Gauteng, average basket sizes are up 20%, and online sales beat out the Western Cape by 35%.

• In the Western Cape, food and beverage businesses are pulling in 24% more revenue than Gauteng—despite having fewer merchants.

It’s not just geography—it’s timing. Brunch promos and weekend campaigns are working, with Fridays and Saturdays seeing a 14% spike in sales. In other words, these aren’t just businesses—they’re timing ninjas.

Digital Tools Are the Secret Sauce:

When businesses use digital tools like Yoco’s POS or e-commerce gateway, the numbers speak for themselves:

• POS users saw a 32% revenue boost

• Food & Beverage sector? A whopping 41%

Add to that the Hair & Beauty sector, which raked in over R324 million—driven by online orders and a December sales surge—and you start to see a clear trend: going digital isn’t optional anymore. It’s the new survival kit.

Timing. Tech. Tactics.

According to Yoco CEO Katlego Maphai, the most successful businesses in 2025 share three traits:
1️⃣ Timing Mastery: They know when people buy and build offers around that.
2️⃣ Digital-First Thinking: They treat e-commerce, mobile payments, and data tools as essentials, not extras.
3️⃣ Smart Capital Use: They don’t just grow—they invest in the right places to scale faster.

This trifecta turns scrappy survival into stable, sustainable growth. And it’s catching on fast.

The Bigger Picture—It’s Not Just About Sales:

These 173 million transactions aren’t just a win for individual businesses. They represent a ripple effect of local job creation, economic resilience, and digital transformation—especially for underserved regions and industries.

And these entrepreneurs? They’re not just working harder. They’re getting smarter, more data-driven, and more focused on what actually works.

What You Can Do (Even If You're Not in SA):

As a Duct Tape Marketing Strategist and StoryBrand Certified Guide, I’ve worked with plenty of businesses stuck in survival mode. This data is your wake-up call:

• Digital tools aren’t “nice to have” anymore—they’re oxygen.

• Revenue comes from relevance—understanding your audience’s habits and giving them what they want, when they want it.

• And if your message still sounds like a confused pitch from 2012, now’s the time to sort that out.

Ready to Join the Growth Wave?

If your business still feels like it’s stuck in the pre-pandemic playbook, you don’t need a total overhaul. You need clarity.

Grab my free 5-Minute Marketing Fix—a quick, simple tool to write a one-liner that actually makes sense to your ideal customer.

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