The Founder Files Building One of SA’s Most Successful Fintech’s - Matt Putman, iKhokha
Today I’m joined by Matt Putman, CEO and co-founder of iKhokha, one of South Africa’s most inspiring FinTech success stories. We kick things off by exploring how iKhokha pivoted from hardware to software, which led to a defining shift in product-market fit and reshaped the company’s future. From there, we cover the complexities of scaling, from attracting talent to raising investment—especially as a Durban-based business outside the major tech hubs. Matt also opens up about his own leadership evolution, the mindset shifts he’s had to embrace, and how he now approaches organizational design. Whether it's transitioning from a single-product to a multi-product company, entering new markets, or structuring his leadership team, Matt shares invaluable insights about unlocking scalability and learning to trust a skilled team. For anyone building and scaling a business, Matt’s stories, advice from his network, recommended books and practical wisdom offer an absolute goldmine of insights!
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This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
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00:00 Introduction 05:03 iKhokha’s scale and what life for Matt is like 10:14 Matt’s drive and how he motivates his team 18:46 The founding story of iKhokha and finding product-market fit 34:17 What product-market fit looked like for iKhokha 38:22 Beginning the scaling journey 45:05 Challenges after finding profitability 48:05 Shifting from a problem-solving to a strategy mindset 50:28 Entering a phase of learning 56:15 The organisational design mindset shift you need to scale 01:08:24 Avoiding shiny object syndrome 01:15:21 How to keep entrepreneurship fun 01:22:43 Challenges in attracting investors and talent being based in Durban 01:37:50 What does the next 6 - 12 months look for iKhokha? 01:40:42 Advice to entrepreneurs at any stage of the journey