Symbiotics Investments, a Switzerland-based investor focused on smaller businesses in low- and middle-income countries, recently issued a loan of USD 2.25 million to Egypt-based Money Fellows. Money Fellows plans to use the fresh capital to expand its digitization of rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs), also known as money circles, as well as to broaden
Tag: Egypt
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Regulator Licenses ADIB Egypt to Open Shariah-compliant Subsidiary, ADI Microfinance
The Egyptian unit of UAE-based Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) recently acquired a license from Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority to operate its subsidiary ADI Microfinance. The microfinance institution will offer
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reefy Microfinance Borrows $6.5m from EBRD for Youth-led MSMEs in Egypt
Reefy Microfinance Enterprise Services, an Egypt-based microfinance institution (MFI), recently agreed to accept a loan of EGP 200 million (USD 6.5 million) from the UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The loan is part of EBRD’s
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Axis Launches axisPay Mobile Money App for Small Businesses in Egypt
The Egypt-based firm axis recently launched its mobile banking app axisPay, after raising USD 8.25 million in seed funding in 2021. The app targets small enterprises and their employees, though a version for individual users is being tested. Among the app’s functions are to
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Arab Savings & Financial Literacy Conference; October 9-11, 2023; Cairo, Egypt – NEW DATES
This event, which originally was set to begin on May 7, 2023, will focus on the importance of financial literacy and long-term savings in improving household financial stability. It offers in-person and remote access to sessions such as: (1) Reconciling the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Robos, General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF) Partner on Events Promoting Financial Literacy, Savings, Social Insurance, Pensions
The Egypt-based General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF) recently agreed to support Bahrain-based Fintech Robos in its production of the following annual events: (1) Arab Savings & Financial Literacy Conference; (2) the Arab Pension & Social Insurance Conference; and (3) the Arab Actuarial Conference. Fintech Robos CEO Ebrahim K Ebrahim noted that one of the goals of the partnership is
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sanabel Conference; November 22-23, 2022; Cairo, Egypt
Themed “Reality and the Future of Financial Inclusion in the Arab World,” this event will include sessions such as: (1) Green Microfinance in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Silicon Badia, Sanad Fund for MSME, Arab Bank Accelerator, Sunny Side Invest Equity in Cartona to Digitize Food Supply Chain in Egypt
Four entities recently placed equity in Cartona, a virtual marketplace connecting Egyptian food wholesalers and distributors, for the first time: US-based Silicon Badia; Sanad Fund for MSME, which was founded by Germany’s KfW Development Bank to invest in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); Jordan-based Arab Bank Accelerator; and Egypt-based Sunny Side Venture Partners. Silicon Badia
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EIB Supporting Technical Assistance for Banque Misr on Financial Inclusion for SMEs, Post-COVID Growth in Egypt
Banque Misr, a financial institution owned by the government of Egypt, recently agreed to work with the EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB) on technical assistance efforts to: (1) enhance Banque Misr’s risk management and company-wide best practices regarding lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and (2) create new financial services through which Banque Misr can support
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tanmeyah for Microenterprise Buys B2B Platform Fatura to Bolster Online Capacity in Egypt
Tanmeyah for Microenterprise Services, a subsidiary of Egypt-based EFG Hermes Holding, recently acquired Netherlands-domiciled Fatura, a “tech-driven business-to-business (B2B) platform” active in Egypt. Tanmeyah CEO Hossam AlNaggar said the acquisition will provide “the company a faster route to digitally transform and develop.” The terms of the transaction
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Khazna of Egypt Raises $38m in Series A Round Led by Quona, 3 More Fintechs Join in Netting Investments from Nclude Fund
Nclude Fund, which was launched in 2022 primarily to focus on financial technology (fintech) in Egypt, has invested unspecified amounts of funding in four startups: (1) Khazna, a financial services app targeting the underbanked; (2) Lucky, an app offering consumer loans and loyalty rewards; (3) Mozare3, which helps small-scale farmers and food processors find funding; and (4) Paymob, an online payment platform that operates in the Middle East and Africa. Khazna also raised funding from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Banque Misr Leads $85m Investment to Launch Global Ventures’ Nclude Fund for Financial Inclusion via Fintech in Egypt
Global Ventures, a UAE-based venture capital firm that invests primarily in the Middle East and Africa, recently founded Nclude, an investment fund specializing in financial technology (fintech), with the aim of boosting financial inclusion, primarily in Egypt. Part of the purpose of Nclude is to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EasyCash Launches Mobile Payment, Wallet Solutions for Consumers, Merchants in Egypt
The Egyptian firm EasyCash recently launched its eponymous digital wallet and mobile payment solution for both Android and iOS devices. EasyCash partnered with Wallet Factory, a financial technology (fintech) firm based in Poland, to develop the mobile applications, which use
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $50m to QNB Alahli of Egypt to Boost Green Lending to Individuals, SMEs
Qatar National Bank (QNB) Alahli, an Egyptian member of the QNB Group, recently accepted a loan of USD 50 million from the multilateral European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to fund on-lending to individual borrowers as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) performing “green, energy efficiency, water efficiency, renewable energy and resource efficiency projects.” The loan is part of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Technical Assistance Facility, Egyptian Credit Bureau I-Score Seek to Boost Finance for Farmers; Agricultural Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Egypt
The Sanad Technical Assistance Facility, which is affiliated with the Luxembourg-domiciled Sanad Fund for MSME (Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise), has collaborated with the Egyptian Credit Bureau, also known as I-Score, to build an Agricultural Credit Evaluation and Risk Assessment System (ACERS). I-Score will implement this “web-based credit assessment and scoring tool,” with the goal of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Produce Firm El Roda Benefits from Trade and Competitiveness, SEMED Youth Employment Programmes Entering Egypt
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently agreed to lend El Roda, an Egyptian producer and exporter of fruits and vegetables, an unspecified amount of funding to expand its packing facility and purchase additional grape varieties and cultivation machinery such as irrigation equipment. The company
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Announces $10m Loan to Egyptian AlexBank
The Sanad Fund for MSME (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises), a provider of loans and equity to financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa, recently announced that it will lend an additional USD 10 million to AlexBank, an Egypt-based financial services institution, to on-lend to MSMEs in Egypt [1].