What Yo! does

Yo-Uganda Limited ("Yo!") is a Uganda-based fintech founded in January 2006 by Gerald Begumisa that pioneered mobile payments aggregation in the country, launching the Yo! Payments platform in February 2011 as the first multipurpose mobile payments aggregation service operating profitably in Uganda. The company's core product is a payments aggregation platform that interconnects all major mobile money providers and banks, enabling businesses to accept mobile money from customers on any network and disburse funds directly to mobile wallets or bank accounts via SMS, USSD, and IVR channels. The platform is exposed to merchants through a self-service portal and a documented 80+ page API with a free sandbox, and is complemented by Branchless Banking, Mobile Banking, Bulk Payments, and Mobile VAS (SMS/USSD/IVR) products.

Yo! monetizes primarily through transaction fees: 3% on inbound mobile money receipts, a UGX 250 flat fee on outbound transfers plus pass-through network charges, 0.5% on internal Yo!-to-Yo! transfers, and standard RTGS/SWIFT charges for bank transfers. Its customer base spans SMBs (restaurants, retail), non-profits, financial institutions, and — through the Mastercard Farmer Network partnership with USADF and Mastercard — agricultural stakeholders including 300 Farmer Producer Organizations, 600 Digital Champions, and a pipeline of 40 medium-to-large agri-buyers. The company holds a Payment System Operator License from the Bank of Uganda under the 2021 National Payment Systems Regulations, is a FITSPA member with its MD on the FITSPA Board, and reports several thousand merchants processing millions of customer transactions daily. Headcount is stated at 1–10; no external institutional investor or VC backing has been disclosed.

Name

Yo!

Legal name

Yo-Uganda Limited

Website

https://yo.co.ug

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Yo! is a Ugandan fintech (founded 2006) that operates a licensed mobile payments aggregation platform enabling businesses to accept mobile money from any provider, disburse bulk payments, and access branchless and mobile banking APIs. It serves thousands of merchants, non-profits, financial institutions, and agricultural value-chain participants across Uganda.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Payments Aggregation

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Merchant-of-Record (MoR) & Payment Facilitation (PayFac) Infrastructure (FSAGABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Wallet Infrastructure (Tokenization, Wallet-as-a-Service) (FSAMAEAI), Carrier Billing & Telco Mobile Money (FSAMAEAD)

Keywords

• Mobile payments aggregation
• Mobile money services
• Bulk payment disbursement
• Branchless banking solutions
• Mobile VAS aggregation

Headquarters

HQ city

Kampala

HQ country

Uganda

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Payment Processing Fees - Inbound Mobile Money: Yo! charges a 3% transaction fee on the value of transactions where funds are transferred from a mobile money account holder into a Yo! Payments account. This applies to inbound payments to business accounts.
2. Payment Processing Fees - Outbound Mobile Money: Flat transaction fee of UGX 250 per transaction for transfers from Yo! Payments account into a mobile money account. Additional network operator bulk payment charges apply (UGX 390 for MTN, UGX 300 for Airtel).
3. Internal Transfer Fees: Fee of 0.5% per transaction for transfers from one Yo! Payments user account to another Yo! Payments user account.
4. Bank Transfer Fees: Standard Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) or SWIFT Telegraphic Transfer charges apply for transactions involving transfer of funds from Yo! Payments account into bank accounts.
5. Bulk Payment Services: Revenue generated from bulk disbursement services to multiple beneficiaries, supporting employee payroll, contractor payouts, vendor payments, and prize money distributions.
6. Agricultural Value Chain Digitization: Digital agriculture solutions including Mastercard Farmer Network implementation, creating marketplace and payment workflows within the agriculture sector. Funded through $250,000 USADF grant partnership.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Yo! operates a mobile payments aggregation platform that enables businesses across Uganda to accept mobile money payments from customers on any mobile network and disburse funds directly to mobile money wallets and bank accounts. The platform interconnects all major mobile money providers and banks in Uganda, offering a unified payment method with full API access for business integrations, bulk disbursement capabilities, and accompanying SMS/USSD/IVR value-added services.

Product overview

Yo! is a technology solutions company offering a comprehensive suite of mobile payment and financial technology services. The core offering is the Yo! Payments platform - a mobile payments aggregation service that enables businesses to accept mobile money payments and disburse funds. The product portfolio includes Merchant Payments, Bulk Payments, Branchless Banking, and Mobile Banking as core payment products, complemented by Mobile VAS (SMS, USSD, IVR) aggregation services and Custom Software Development. Through strategic partnerships, Yo! also offers the Mastercard Farmer Network - a digital agriculture solution for agricultural value chain digitization. The platform supports both Business Accounts (with full API access) and Personal Accounts, serving various industries including retail, agriculture, financial institutions, and social sectors across Uganda.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Yo! Payments A mobile payments aggregation service that enables businesses to receive payments from customers via mobile money and make mobile money payments to any mobile money account holder. Offers Business Accounts (with API access and ability to receive mobile money payments) and Personal Accounts without API access.
• Merchant Payments

Quantifiable outcome

• Several thousands of merchants serve millions of customers daily through Yo! Payments
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MastercardcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2021Partnership to deploy Mastercard Farmer Network - a digital agriculture solution that digitizes marketplaces, payments, and workflows within Uganda's agricultural sector. Yo! integrates the platform with its payments infrastructure. Creates digital marketplace for buyers and farmers, advancing digital inclusion and fostering wealth creation.
• FITSPA (Financial Technology Service Providers Association of Uganda)coreOthersYo! is a registered member of FITSPA and MD Gerald Begumisa serves on the FITSPA Board of Directors. Yo! was a main sponsor of the FITSPA 2021 conference themed 'Building a Safe and Regulated Ecosystem', which brought together 163 association members and FinTech players from East Africa and Africa.
• Bank of UgandacoreOthersBank of Uganda granted Yo! a Payment System Operator License under the Large Funds Transfer System Class of the National Payment Systems Regulations, 2021. The license validates Yo!'s track record regarding security and reliability of its technical platforms and enables the company to legally provide payment and aggregation services.
• UNCDFminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYo! has been involved in agricultural projects in partnership with UNCDF alongside partnerships with MasterCard. These interventions have impacted tens of thousands of farmers and their communities with digital financial services.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Flutterwave: Pan-African payment gateway that aggregates multiple payment methods (cards, mobile money, bank transfers) for businesses across Africa, similar in core value proposition to Yo!'s mobile money aggregation platform. Competes directly with Yo! for enterprise and SMB payment processing customers.
• Cellulant: Operates Tingg, a digital payments platform aggregating mobile money, cards, and bank payments across 35+ African countries. Closely comparable to Yo! in providing payment orchestration infrastructure for merchants, with similar focus on mobile money interoperability.
• MFS Africa (Onafriq): Cross-border mobile money aggregator connecting over 500 million mobile wallets across Africa. Directly comparable to Yo!'s aggregation model, though focused on cross-border payments rather than domestic aggregation.
• Paystack: African payment gateway (acquired by Stripe) serving businesses with online and mobile payment processing including mobile money channels. Similar merchant-focused model with API-first integration, comparable to Yo!'s business account offering.
• Pesapal: East African payment gateway headquartered in Kenya serving merchants with card and mobile money payment processing. Operates in adjacent geography to Yo! with comparable focus on mobile money acceptance for SMB merchants.

Broad incumbents

• Interswitch: One of Africa's largest payments networks, offering card processing, payment switching, and digital commerce across multiple African markets. A broader incumbent with overlapping payment infrastructure capabilities, but operates at significantly larger scale than Yo!.
• Safaricom (M-Pesa): Kenya-based mobile network operator whose M-Pesa mobile money platform dominates East African payments. Functions as both a potential partner and competitive threat to Yo! given M-Pesa's scale and incumbent position in the regional mobile money ecosystem.
• MTN Group (MoMo): Africa's largest mobile network operator with MTN MoMo mobile money service operating in Uganda and 15+ other countries. As one of Yo!'s key aggregation partners, MTN represents both a distribution channel and a competitive risk if it vertically integrates aggregation services.

Emerging players

• Paga: Nigerian mobile money and payments platform enabling cash-in/cash-out via mobile agents and digital payments for merchants. Comparable mobile money aggregation model but focused on the Nigerian market rather than East Africa.
• Wave: Mobile money operator serving underbanked populations across Senegal, Ivory Coast, Mali, and other West African markets. Operates a similar mobile-first financial inclusion model targeting unbanked users, comparable to Yo!'s Uganda focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/youganda
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/yo-uganda-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Yo!