Led by First Circle Capital, the funding round also drew support from several prominent investors, including TLCom Capital, Enza Capital, Incisive Ventures, CVVC, and Equitable Ventures. The raise marks a significant step in TurnStay’s ambition to streamline global transactions for African travel businesses, offering a localised yet globally competitive payments infrastructure.
Breaking Barriers in African Travel Payments
African tourism operators have long grappled with a fragmented and costly international payments landscape. Challenges such as exorbitant card fees, failed transactions, and prolonged settlement periods continue to hinder the sector’s full potential—despite its sizeable contribution to the continent's economy. Tourism supports over six million jobs and contributes upwards of R1.8 trillion annually across Africa.
TurnStay’s platform directly addresses these issues. It leverages a merchant-of-record model alongside stablecoin-based settlement, enabling faster and more affordable international transactions. According to the company, this approach can reduce transaction costs by as much as 70%, while improving booking conversion rates for local operators.
“Making global payment infrastructure accessible to African travel businesses is at the heart of what we do,” said Alon Stern, co-founder and CEO of TurnStay, and formerly of Prodigy Finance. “This funding represents a major milestone in that mission.”
Founders with a Fintech Track Record
TurnStay was co-founded by seasoned fintech and travel tech entrepreneurs: Alon Stern and James Hedley, who previously co-founded ticketing platform Quicket. The duo brings deep experience in navigating both the financial technology and tourism ecosystems.
Their solution is built for seamless integration with widely used booking engines and property management systems, allowing travel operators to streamline their operations without overhauling their existing tech stacks.
Growth and Expansion on the Horizon
The fresh capital injection will fuel TurnStay’s expansion into key African tourism markets, as well as bolster its backend payments infrastructure. The startup is positioning itself as a cost-effective and empowering alternative to dominant global online travel agents (OTAs) and traditional financial institutions—many of which charge high commissions or impose rigid processes on local businesses.
By allowing African operators to accept international payments while settling in local currency, TurnStay gives them greater control and flexibility over their revenues. In turn, this opens the door to more direct bookings, reducing dependence on third-party OTAs and increasing profit margins.
“Our solution consistently delivers cost savings while improving the booking experience for international travellers,” added James Hedley, TurnStay’s Chief Operating Officer.
A Promising Trajectory
Since raising R5.7 million in a pre-seed round just a year ago, TurnStay claims to have processed over R250 million in transactions and forged several strategic industry partnerships. The latest funding will help consolidate this early momentum, with the startup aiming to become a pivotal player in the digitisation of Africa’s tourism economy.
By bridging the payments gap between international tourists and African travel providers, TurnStay is betting on a future where cross-border travel payments are no longer a bottleneck—but a competitive advantage for local businesses.