South Africa’s TurnStay Raises $2M to Expand Travel Fintech

TurnStay, a South African travel fintech startup, has raised $2 million in a seed funding round led by First Circle Capital. Additional investors include TLcom Capital, Enza Capital, Incisive Ventures, CV VC (CV VC), and Equitable Ventures.

Founded in 2021 by CEO Alon Stern and James Hedley, the startup focuses on cross-border payments for African travel businesses by offering checkout pages, acting as a merchant-of-record, and orchestrating localized settlement.

TurnStay previously secured $300,000 in pre-seed funding from DFS Lab and Digital Currency Group in July 2024. Since then, TurnStay has processed over ZAR 250 million in transactions (approximately $14.3 million).

With new $2 million funding, TurnStay plans to support African expansion, technology enhancements, and market reach.

Recently, another fintech travel startup, Ramp, raised $500 million in a Series E‑2 round, led by Iconiq Capital, valuing the company at $22.5 billion.

Photo by Tobias Reich on Unsplash