The round was led by First Circle Capital, with additional backing from US and African investors including TLcom Capital, Enza Capital, Incisive Ventures, CVVC, and Equitable Ventures.

Founder Alon Stern (who previously co‑founded Prodigy Finance) and James Hedley (co‑founder of Quicket, later acquired by Ticketmaster) launched TurnStay in 2021.

They created the company to tackle inefficiencies facing African travel and tourism operators—such as high transaction fees, failed cross‑border payments, and lengthy settlements.

Their platform acts as a merchant of record and orchestrates payments: customers pay in their home country via card, while funds are settled locally using stablecoins.

This setup can cut payment costs by as much as 70%, reduce failed transactions, speed up settlements, and improve booking conversion rates.

Previous funding in mid‑2024 included a $300,000 round from DFS Lab and Digital Currency Group, which helped TurnStay reach over R50 million in processed transactions (about $2.8 million).

According to Agnes Aistleitner Kisuule, partner at First Circle Capital, TurnStay is creating defensible infrastructure focused on travel and tourism—enabling better experiences than general payment providers.

She highlights the team’s early traction, deep experience, and the continent’s huge untapped opportunity.

TurnStay’s system integrates with leading booking platforms and property management tools, allowing travel operators to adopt it without disrupting existing workflows.

It offers an alternative to global online travel agencies—helping local providers accept direct bookings, retain more revenue, and improve profit margins by avoiding high commissions.

This seed round positions TurnStay to accelerate its roll‑out across the continent and refine its payment infrastructure for travel operators.