Suits & Sneakers presents: "The iKhokha Journey: From a Durban Garage to a R1.65 Billion Exit" with Matt Putman

Suits & Sneakers hosts several events each month in Joburg, each featuring a different guest and theme. The idea is to create a space for ongoing learning that help you broaden your thinking in a fast changing world. This event will be hosted on the evening of Wednesday, 11 February, at The Tryst in Kramerville, with a livestream available for those not based in Johannesburg.

WHAT IS THIS EVENT ALL ABOUT?

Most people now know iKhokha as one of the local fintech giants that were recently acquired by Nedbank for R1.65 billion. Today, the platform processes north of R20 billion in annual card payments and puts roughly R1 billion worth of working capital into the hands of small businesses every year. While these numbers are massive, the actual story of how that business was built is far from the polished version you see in the headlines. It is a 14-year journey that began in a family garage in KZN and involved over a decade of fighting for every inch of growth in a heavily regulated and competitive market.

On 11 February, Mark Sham and Matt Putman will ignore the PR headlines to look at the actual mechanics of how this business survived and thrived.

To be clear, this isn't a talk about fintech trends or motivational hacks. We are going to unpack how Matt and his two co-founders managed to build a business of this magnitude. We will explore how a guy with a media degree and a background running Durban nightclubs teamed up with a PhD engineer and an entrepreneurial high school mate to take on the financial establishment. We will talk about why playing high stakes online poker provided a better business education than any textbook and how surviving a year long battle with a chronic illness built the grit needed to keep a startup alive during the toughest cycles.

The conversation moves past the "success story" to focus on the unglamorous reality of building something meaningful over time. We will talk about the early days of creating hardware from scratch, the pressure of competing against better funded rivals, and the quiet discipline it takes to stay committed to a vision for over a decade. Above all, we will explore how years of operating under constraint shaped a culture of discipline that ultimately became a competitive advantage.

This event is for anyone interested in the true mechanics of growth. Whether you are a founder building a startup, a corporate leader managing a large team, or a professional looking to understand how value is actually created in a tough market, Matt’s journey offers a practical lens into what it takes to scale.

MORE ABOUT MATTHEW PUTMAN

Matt Putman is the co-founder and CEO of iKhokha. Since launching in 2012, the business has grown to support hundreds of thousands of small traders and process tens of billions of rands in payments annually.

Matt’s path into business was unconventional. He cut his teeth running a nightclub in Durban in his early twenties and his move into fintech was driven by his own frustration with how difficult it was for small businesses to take payments.

Recently named the 2025 IT Personality of the Year, Matt is known for his pragmatic approach to leadership and his focus on helping South African SMEs move from an analog cash world into the digital ecosystem.

SPONSORS & PARTNERS

This Suits & Sneakers event is proudly brought to you by EasyEquities, SA Future Trust, and the many small business owners that are Suits & Sneakers members. Together, we have created a support structure for small business owners and our collective goal is to grow the economy, while lowering unemployment. More about that on the night.