Few South African companies have entered the local technology market with the amount of muscle displayed by Thumbzup Innovations. The Centurion-based company, which unveiled its Payments Pebble device in April, has forged a close partnership with the Absa banking group and secured venture capital funding estimated at R120 million.

Absa is pushing the Pebble as a key part of its mobile payments strategy aimed at entrepreneurs and small businesses. The Pebble, a card-reader that connects to a smartphone’s audio plug, enables traders to easily process card transactions instead of handling cash. Absa has exclusive rights to the Pebble in South Africa for 12 months and is aggressively promoting the Pebble through a variety of media campaigns.