South Africa's Yoco Acquires Dyner to Expand AI Tools for SMEs

South African fintech Yoco has acquired Dyner.ai, an AI-powered software platform for restaurants and independent businesses, as it expands beyond payments into business management and operations software.

The acquisition strengthens Yoco’s push to build a broader commerce platform for small businesses. The company serves more than 200,000 merchants across South Africa and processes over $1 billion in card payments annually. Founded as a payments provider, Yoco has expanded into lending, online payments and business management tools in recent years.

Dyner has developed an operating system that helps restaurants manage inventory, supplier orders, reporting, margins and daily operations. Several of its customers, including Plato Coffee, already use Yoco’s payment services. The startup was founded by actuaries Thalentha Ngobeni and Chris du Plessis, both former employees of Discovery, who built the platform after working closely with restaurant operators.

Carl Wazen, Yoco’s co-founder and chief business officer, said the acquisition was driven by a shared belief that technology can help independent businesses operate more efficiently. He said artificial intelligence will play a growing role in helping business owners automate routine tasks, identify trends and make better decisions. The Dyner team will continue developing its platform while gradually integrating with Yoco’s merchant ecosystem and infrastructure.

The deal follows growing interest among fintech companies in using artificial intelligence to offer services beyond payments. Across global markets, payment providers are increasingly adding software tools that help merchants manage operations, customer relationships and finances, creating new revenue streams and strengthening customer retention.