#YocoExchange

It was a big day for
small business

Just because you’re self made doesn’t mean you stand alone. One year ago, Yoco Exchange gave
entrepreneurs a place to network, engage, and learn from small business leaders and experts.

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1 Fox Street, Johannesburg, 14 March 2020

It's a big day for
small business

Just because you’re self made doesn’t mean you stand alone. Join us at Yoco Exchange where you can network, participate and learn from small business leaders and experts. Featuring 12 speakers. 4 music acts. 15 legendary small businesses. And unlimited possibilities.

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In partnership with

When we exchange, we grow.

One year ago, we came together to celebrate small business. Here’s how it went down.

We learnt from each other

Shared new ideas. Gained fresh perspectives. Learned small business lessons to help us start, run, and grow.

Saw small business in action

Rubbed shoulders with fellow entrepreneurs. Meet the makers behind successful brands like Native Nosi, and Bathu.

Gained insight & inspiration

Took time out to talk, laugh, and enjoy the wild ride that entrepreneurship really is. Left with big ideas, and bigger goals.

#YocoExchange

Share your favourite memories, moments, and tag us in your photos.

Take a trip back in time with us.

To spread the love (and knowledge), here are some of the talks presented at Yoco Exchange one year ago.

Yoco co-founder and CEO, Katlego Maphai, talks with Black Coffee and Maps Maponyane about how to make it as a creator, and founder.

Xolani Sedibe talks about using your mobile phone to push creative boundaries and create content that stands out and tells your brand’s story.

Lead by Mashudu Modau, the panel of entrepreneurship experts and leaders discusses the South African small business ecosystem.

Jason Bagley presents how to win at email marketing which, despite social media, has held its spot as the #1 platform for direct marketing.

Lethabo Mokoena discussed, “Innovation in the African context”. What it means to us as Africans, and why it isn’t synonymous with technology.

Joe Human walks us through the three keystones of brand building, gained from his experience as a successful entrepreneur.

Louis Janse van Rensburg, chairman of the Heavy Chef Foundation, talks about the importance of learning how to learn.

Nicolette Mashile brings financial literacy for small business owners into the spotlight in her talk, Confessions of New Money.

Marang Marekimane explores digital tools that you can use to scale your business, and implement a smarter, more sustainable way of working.

Sizakele Marutlulle talks about finding and staying aligned with your identity, purpose, and mission in her presentation: a damn, a dime and a difference.

Sinesipho Maninjwa tackles the hot topic of small business funding: what are the challenges, sources, and solutions?

Musa Kalenga’s gives a thought-provoking talk about how technology can and should be solving human development problems.

Featured speakers

The people who took the stage on the big day.

Maps Maponyane

Masego "Maps" Maponyane is a serial entrepreneur with more hustles than we can count. He recently ventured into the restaurant business with Buns Out, a burger joint that he flipped (yes, we did that) from concept to first customer in three months.

Gugu Nkabinde

Gugu Nkabinde once described herself as a "solutions" architect who is obsessed with insights that drive businesses, industries and brands. That obsession propelled her through a career as a brand strategist and later as the founder of Gugu Intimates – an award-winning company that champions inclusivity in South Africa, Zimbabwe and the USA.

Lethabo Mokoena

Walk Fresh founder Lethabo Mokoena is changing the narrative of township entrepreneurs one step at a time. Having launched his sneaker-cleaning startup in 2015, he’s tackling youth unemployment in his hometown and making people proud.

Mashudu Modau

Youth entrepreneurship evangelist Mashudu Modau is an influential voice in the small business community. As founder and podcast host at Mashstartup – and Community Partnerships Manager at Yoco – he connects people and builds platforms to help African entrepreneurs grow.

Nic Haralambous

There’s far more to Nic’s story than cool socks. His journey through entrepreneurship is intimately linked to tech and pushing boundaries. Whether it’s in retail, mobile community platforms or writing books, his approach to building a business is simple. Do. Fail. Learn. Repeat.

Nicolette Mashile

Nicolette Mashile has dedicated her career to closing the knowledge gaps and boosting financial literacy among South African entrepreneurs. The SABC1 Daily Thetha co-host, entrepreneur and founder succeeds in that mission every single day.

Craig Rodney

What do you get when you combine sharp marketing skills and social media acumen with a passion for your country? An Instagram following of 291k and a stellar career. Craig Rodney is a marketing manager, serial entrepreneur, shareholder, business coach and trail runner.

Joe Human

Joe is a Creative Entrepreneur, Brand Identity Developer and co-founder of a multidisciplinary agency, Creative Mind Space. He has been recognized by Fast Company as one of the Top 20 Under 25 most inspiring young South Africans, and aside from helping craft brand experiences, pours his purpose into his Pioneers vs Pretenders podcast.

Musa Kalenga

Musa is an author, marketer, brand communication specialist, writer and entrepreneur. He is a lauded speaker, author of Ladders and Trampolines and a strategist who was recognised as one of the Top 200 young South Africans by the Mail & Guardian in 2012.

Lineup

Plan your day and see what you’ll learn on the day

Find more tips and tools to run your business.

All the resources, tools, and insights to start, run, and grow your small business are waiting for you in Open by Yoco, our blog.

#YocoExchange

It was a big day for small business

It's a big day for small business

We learnt from each other

Saw small business in action