Digital Boom

Category: Startups

  • Jordanian Startup Eon Dental Raises $26M in Series B

    Jordanian Startup Eon Dental Raises $26M in Series B

    Jordanian dental tech startup Eon Dental has successfully secured $26M in its Series B funding round. The round was led by a large international MedTech fund along with Arab Palestinian Investment Company, otf Jasoor Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, Spartech Ventures, and Bank al Etihad joined by existing investors Hummingbird Ventures and Silicon Badia.

    Eon Dental Technology

    Eon Dental, founded in 2011, is a full-service clear aligner company with a worldwide distribution network and reputation for exceptional clear aligner products. Eon combines high-quality manufacturing services with a comprehensive, clinician-centric software solution, enabling their customers to offer high-quality clear aligners, a great user experience, and fast turnaround times – all under the customer’s own brand.

    MENA Healthcare Industry Needs

    The Healthcare industry in MENA was one of the few industries to observe an instant impact from the global pandemic, reaching an all-time high in VC funding in 2020 growing 4x compared to the year before. This shed light on the need for Tech integration in MENA’s healthcare industries, where Egypt took the lead in most capital invested in Healthcare by Q3’21 with startups like pharmaceuticals marketplace Yodawy and IoT-integrated patient management solutions platform SoTech raising major rounds this year.

    A leading clear aligner provider to dentists and orthodontists in the MENA region

    Eon has also established a foothold in the clear aligner market under the Eon Aligner brand. This clinical insight and technological advancement is paving the way for one of the best white-label solutions for customers around the globe.“Since founding the company, we have been mission-driven to provide quality orthodontic solutions to our customers so that everyone has access to a beautiful smile,” said Qais Sabri, Co-Founder, and CEO, Eon Dental.

    “We are excited to partner with this well-regarded group of investors and we appreciate their support in advancing our mission to impact the lives of as many people as possible.” The OEM market is extremely underserved and Eon Dental has developed a flexible enterprise solution that offers compelling value,” said Eon’s lead investor.

    “Eon’s world-class innovations in rapid manufacturing of clear aligners and integrated clinical care solutions deliver a better experience for customers at a lower total cost. We’re excited to support this industry-leading team through the next phase of growth.”

    The startup will channel its newly acquired funds to fuel Eon’s next chapter, further advancing its manufacturing automation and clinical services capabilities, investing and innovating in its enterprise and clinical software solutions, and strengthening its commercialization and distribution.

    Ahmad Hanandeh, Jordanian Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship said “It is exciting to see a Jordanian startup mature an organization and make the transition to become a global player”. “Eon receiving regional and international investor recognition reaffirms what Jordan has to offer in terms of talent, capabilities and entrepreneurial spirit.”

  • Fintech Startup ‘Sympl’ Raises Its First Funding Round

    Fintech Startup ‘Sympl’ Raises Its First Funding Round

    Cairo-based startup ‘Sympl’ has raised the first funding round from A15 with a regional focus. This first investment marks the platform launch for the FinTech startup and it is considered an extension of efforts to empower Tech innovations in the region by A15.

    Founded last month by Yasmine Henna, Mohamed El-Feky and Karim Tawfik, Sympl is a buy now pay later service, allowing merchants to sell products and services directly to customers on short-term and interest-free repayment plans. With  A15’s early investment in the startup, the venture capital firm was able to support the development of the Sympl checkout platform and successfully help to bring it to launch.

    The third quarter of the year proved consistent with the stellar year of FinTech across MENA, Turkey, and Pakistan. Observing a 55% Quarter-on-Quarter growth of funds backing FinTech across MENAPT, the industry observed yet another quarterly record as most recently recorded in Q3 2021. Most remarkably, online payment solutions and financial structuring services have been a hot target for VC investors across MENAPT as observed in FinTech Funding Rounds 2021 YTD. Of which, startups like BPL platforms Tabby (UAE) and Colendi (Turkey) raising major rounds this year.

    In parallel to setting the payment infrastructures that push forward with cashless and flexible payment processes, FinTechs like BitOasis, Sarwa, and most recently Fintech Galaxy, and Tarabut Gateway have raised rounds this year to explore the worlds of Cryptocurrency, Open Banking, and Digital Investment.

    A15 invests in its portfolio companies at an early stage

    Working closely with the founders to generate value across different channels.  A15’s partnership with Sympl – whose co-founders’ experience includes co-creating leading consumer finance company ValU and B2B commerce platform Capiter – ideally positions both companies.

    In light of this first investment, Karim Beshara, General Partner at A15, commented “At A15, we are committed to partnering with strong founding teams in the very early stages of their ventures, where we can work closely together to unlock value. We pride ourselves on the close relationships we maintain with the founders and their teams, supporting them from the beginning as part of the A15 family. We are excited to have backed Sympl from day one and are proud of the early positive signs from their launch. We look forward to continued close collaboration and scaling the  business.”

    With the support of A15, Sympl’s “Save your money pay later” checkout platform successfully launched in October via an exclusive partnership with leading Apple reseller, Tradeline – on the release of the new iPhone 13. Other partnerships have been established with key retailers in the electronics and appliances sector (2B), jewelry (Al-Mawardy Jewelry, Damas, and Jawhara), auto parts (Your Parts), hypermarket (Hyperone) sectors, and covering merchants in an array of other categories such as furniture, fashion, travel, and medical services.

    Mohamed Elfeky, Chief Executive Officer of Sympl concluded “A15 has been a crucial partner in the early stages of our growth. Their support in product development initiatives, tech integrations and connections to their startups’ ecosystem have been important in our early success. We look forward to continuing our partnership with them to drive  innovation, provide new solutions for merchants and consumers, and contribute to the transition to a  cashless society in Egypt.”

  • Wuzzuf’s Ameer Sherif Steps Down as CEO, Buckles Up for ITIDA

    Wuzzuf’s Ameer Sherif Steps Down as CEO, Buckles Up for ITIDA

    BasharSoft the parent company of “Wuzzuf and Forasna” recruitment platforms, has announced that the founder, Ameer Sherif has stepped down as CEO and moved to the Chairman seat after spending 12 years leading the team.

    The move was inline with Ameer’s new venture in the VC zone, as he joined Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency “ITIDA” as a Board Member which responsible for developing Egypt’s tech and innovation sector.

    Ameer was recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2019.

    He aims to invest more time and effort into supporting the entrepreneurship, innovation, and youth employment ecosystems in Egypt, Africa, and the Middle East. Ameer said to MENABytes.

    Wuzzuf has appointed Sherif Hashem as CEO, Sherif joined BasharSoft in mid-2020 to lead corporate development and investor relations.

    Prior to joining BasharSoft, Sherif worked on high-value M&A transactions including joint ventures, consolidations and exits as well as capital markets transactions in Egypt and the UAE. Reflecting on the new role, Sherif said “I am grateful to Ameer and our board for their trust in me and I am excited about what is to come. Ameer and the team here have built something really unique with this company.”

    Source: MENABytes.

  • Nawy raises Seven-Figure investment led by Sawiris family

    Nawy raises Seven-Figure investment led by Sawiris family

    Cairo-based PropTech startup Nawy has raised an oversubscribed seven-figure Seed round led by the Sawiris family office. Also participating in the investment round was a roster of notable angels, including Hatem Dowidar (renowned telecom leader and angel investor).

    Founded in 2016 as “Cooing,” the company has since re-brand to Nawy. The startup provides a holistic real estate end-to-end platform that enables users to browse thousands of properties and guides them to find their future homes. The company was founded by Mohamed Abou Ghanima, Abdel-Azim Osman, Ahmed Rafea, Aly Rafea, and Mostafa El Beltagy (who has left his role as Vodafone Romania’s CCO to lead Nawy as its CEO).

    Currently working out of two offices in New Cairo and 6th of October City, Nawy plans to funnel this recent investment into bolstering their technology, diversify their model to include a wider array of services, and expand their team to serve more areas across Egypt.

    Nawy has served over 30,000 individuals in little over five years on their quest to find their perfectly matched property, sold billions of pounds in GMV, and, despite a turbulent year in real estate, Nawy remains on a steady pace to reach 300% growth in 2021.

    Nawy facilitates a user’s journey by allowing them to run elaborate searches with customizable criteria such as unit space, price, location, and much more. Users can also cast a wider net and filter down from there. This feature provides users with full autonomy over their real estate decisions instead of more traditional methods involving multiple parties and less-informed decisions. This centralization and fully integrated model renders a handoff between an online platform and brokerage obsolete, ushering in a more efficient, user-friendly approach. Once customers feel confident in fulfilling a purchase, Nawy’s brokerage arm provides a seamless transaction process using the expertise of veteran agents and consultants at no additional cost.

    When asked about the vision and purpose of the company, Nawy’s CEO, Mostafa El Beltagy, said, “There’s a considerable chunk of time lost from a homebuyer’s end due to the lack of information and transparency, which breeds anxiety within customers. Even more traditional methods, such as push sales from cold calling, leave customers more skeptical than ever. Nawy is vying to become the leading real estate search engine and platform, equipping customers with all the information and insight they need to select a home in Egypt’s top gated communities. This is enabled by our fully integrated model, which includes the strongest client service/sales team aiming to serve the customer’s needs, our in-house technology, and seasoned experts and consultants in the real estate domain.”

    Onsi Sawiris, who leads the family office, added, “Within the realms of PropTech, there’s a breakneck speed of evolution in service offerings and how to offer a better fully integrated model in Egypt. Nawy has paved the way for it to be manifested and realized, and I am in full belief of their vision’s viability. Nawy has checked all the quintessential boxes from acquiring the right team and talent to ensuring their backend is a truly inventive one that can deliver a seamless and transparent homebuyer’s journey.”

  • Aleph acquires 86% in Connect Ads

    Aleph acquires 86% in Connect Ads

    Aleph Holding, global partner to the world’s biggest digital media players, has today announced its acquisition of 86% of Connect Ads in a cash and shares’ swap transaction.

    The acquisition sees Aleph Holding entering the MENA market as it continues its drive to expand globally and increase its presence in new territories, now reaching 90 markets and territories.

    Aleph provides leading digital platforms such as Facebook and many others access to new geographies and under-served markets through its complementary suite of digital media service companies which include Httpool, Internet Media Services, Wise.Blue, Social Snack and AdDynamo.

    The majority acquisition of Connect Ads extends Aleph’s services across the MENA region through Connect Ads’ more than 14 other exclusive media partnerships with global and leading digital media names including Twitter, TikTok, Verizon Media, Spotify, Adobe Advertising Cloud, Huawei Ads, Bigo Ads and many more.

    What this means to MENA

    In 2021, Aleph is on track to generate $1 billion in sales with an expanded footprint reaching over 90 markets supported. The acquisition marks a key milestone in this journey.

    “There is huge value in expanding throughout MENA, both to serve our current partners and clients and to expand on existing relationships in other parts of the world.”

    “We have been following Connect Ads’ growth and geographical expansion over the last five years and I am excited to welcome them to the Aleph family and we will work together with Connect Ads and A15 to make this a successful partnership” said Gastón Taratuta, Founder & CEO of Aleph Holding.

    The Value of Growth

    “A15 is happy with the phenomenal results, value and growth that Connect Ads created over the years; it validates A15’s venture building strategy in creating outliers. This is A15’s second dragon exit from fund I, and our third major exit overall.” said Karim Beshara, General Partner of A15.

    He adds “A15 is looking forward to continuing this journey with Aleph and Connect Ads and contributing to a global digital powerhouse. We are excited about the growth opportunities and potential returns this deal will bring in the future.”

    “We see this as a giant leap in the right direction for Connect Ads and all our stakeholders including our teams, partners, and clients. Being a part of Aleph, this truly global structure, will give us more leverage in managing our business as well as global exposure and potential that goes far beyond MENA and EMEA.”

    “The numerous synergies and shared vision make this a very exciting time for us. The enhanced accessibility that this entails will enable us to grow faster and bigger than ever before” said Mohamed El Mehairy, CEO of Connect Ads.

    Mehairy Connect Ads

    Aleph is the largest global digital media partner. In over 90 markets worldwide, the corporation is trusted to connect the biggest players in digital media with the advertisers that rely on them.

    Aleph helps advertisers maximize the value of their investment through a complete service ecosystem – comprising innovative proprietary technology, digital expertise and deeply embedded local market knowledge.

    Our teams help brands to master the leading digital platforms, bringing them closer to their customers. These services are delivered through their portfolio of digital media service brands: IMS; Httpool; WISE.BLUE; Social Snack; and AdDynamo.

    At the same time, Aleph acts as an extension to the leading players in digital, giving them access to new and under-served markets. Their global infrastructure and scale mean that they can build any market into a new success story.

    As a trusted partner to the whole of the digital community, Aleph believes that growth generates growth. That is why they hold the key unlock the last mile in digital media.

  • FasterCapital Launches Startup Program To Support Women Entrepreneurs

    FasterCapital Launches Startup Program To Support Women Entrepreneurs

    FasterCapital, an online incubator and accelerator based in Dubai, is launching a cohort for women entrepreneurs.

    Recent statistics reveal that as of 2021 that 36% of small businesses are owned by women and this number is gradually increasing year over year.

    In spite of the challenges they are facing, almost 90% of the female-owned businesses worldwide are up and running and are generating profits.

    The situation in the Middle East when it comes to women entrepreneurship is different from other countries around the world where only 10% of businesses are owned by women.

    In this cohort, FasterCapital is helping women founders in different aspects of their business-building or business-growing journeys.

    The cohort launches in June 2021 and is a yearly initiative for women founders. Check out the programs website.

    Tech Support for Women Founders

    Through the Tech Cofounder program, FasterCapital will offer all the technical support needed to start your business or build your product.

    Technology is an essential component of business today and a strong product is what makes a strong brand.

    Many women are mostly starting businesses in areas of education, food, fashion, retail, and it is important to find strong technical teams to complement and translate these products into the language of today.

    FasterCapital Supports Women Founders, Entrepreneurs
    Credit: FasterCapital

    Raising Capital for Women Entrepreneurs

    Securing the capital needed is a very crucial step to start or grow any business, and female-led businesses are no different.

    But the statistics show that women founders find it much more challenging to secure the money they need than men founders.

    For this cohort of innovative female entrepreneurs, FasterCapital will match the businesses with a network of angel investors, venture capital, and other funding sources.

    Many women – in the MENA and elsewhere – already have innovative and brilliant ideas but most of them end up giving up on these potential ground-breaking businesses.

    This is mainly due to the lack of the capital needed and not having the right network or resources available.

    FasterCapital supports all different stages of businesses and businesses from different industries.

    Growing and Entering New Markets for Savvy Women Founders

    For women who have already started and established their businesses, joining this cohort will help them in growing their business further and in exploring new markets and potentials.

    Sales, marketing, scaling, partnerships, and many other growth strategies are discussed and employed for the sake of taking your business to the next level.

    This will be helpful for women entrepreneurs who are trying to grow and enter the MENA market and for women in the MENA market trying to reach new global markets.

    FasterCapital logo
    FasterCapital logo

    The future of women entrepreneurship

    Although it is globally noted that the future is bright for women in business and that there is much progress done.

    However, on the way of bridging the gender gap in entrepreneurial areas, we need to acknowledge that there is much yet to be done for women in different parts of the world.

    Women entrepreneurs have many tools now but in markets like MENA, Africa, and others we need to enable them to grab these tools and build their businesses.

    Supporting and encouraging women to step out of their own conventional duties and to enter this foreign territory.

    This should merge with creating an inclusive and supportive environment are what we can do in the resent to ensure a truly bright future.

    Women Entrepreneurship in the MENA market

    Entering this massively men-dominated ecosystem is extremely challenging for women in the MENA markets, but is not impossible.

    It’s the reason why women like Helen Al Uzaizi – CEO of BizWorld, Mona Ataya – Founder and CEO of Mumzworld, Sahiqa Bennett – CEO & Co-founder of Searchie, and Briar Prestidge – Founder & CEO of Prestidge Group PR have been able to work their way up and set an example.

    It is also worth noting that many women from the Middle East are staring international businesses and are nailing it.

    Hesham Zreik, CEO of FasterCapital comments, “through starting this cohort of female entrepreneurs, we hope to enable innovative and dedicated women in taking the steps needed to start and grow their empires.”

    Women Entrepreneurship and COVID

    The rise of COVID-19 had caused many extra challenges on women in business.

    During shutdown, most retail businesses – which is mostly the niche market for many women entrepreneurs – witnessed major setbacks.

    The focus on technology and online businesses resulted in more damage to many women entrepreneurs. This is why we believe enabling women to use technology and start tech-enabled businesses is a goal in itself.

    Strengths of Women Leaders in Business

    Women have their own superpowers that has helped them and that will help them in being successful business leaders.

    Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube, Whitney Wolfe Herd, CEO of Bumble, and Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, are only some few examples of successful female CEOs in different industries.

    High emotional intelligence is an asset that helps women in managing and leading teams successfully and in mediating their business goals to the language and understanding of their crew.

    Many women entrepreneurs are motivated inwardly. They have a vision that they would like to see achieved. They are mostly not as motivated by financial gain as much as their male counterparts are.

    This constant and strong motivation is a very powerful engine that makes many female-led business thrive indeed.

    Join the female cohort and unleash your superpowers now!

  • Breadfast to Donate Kahk to Egyptian Food Bank This Eid

    Breadfast to Donate Kahk to Egyptian Food Bank This Eid

    Cairo-based grocery and one-stop app Breadfast is donating scrumptious kahk boxes to the Egyptian Food Bank in the startup’s CSR campaign, ‘إﻓﺮح وﻓﺮﺣﮭﻢ’.

    After talking to the Breadfast Crew, I learned this campaign is part of the startup’s core values to put people first, support the community and lead with empathy and benevolence.

    Breadfast created ‘Buy One Donate One’ box, a premium kahk box specially created for the Egyptian Food Bank.

    A festive tin box that has delicious, melt-in-your-mouth, powdered-sugar kahk, Breadfast’s Buy One Donate One box is offered at EGP 240 (around 15 USD).

    By buying this box, customers will be paying for one kahk box (EGP 160), plus half the price of another kahk box donated to the Egyptian Food Bank (EGP 80). Breadfast will pay the other half and deliver the box to the Egyptian Food Bank on our customers’ behalf.

    With this initiative, Breadfast aims to extend joy to less fortunate households and help them celebrate Eid the same way our customers do.

    A cloud supermarket in your pocket.

    The e-commerce startup, founded in 2017, provides daily go-to shopping essentials , all the way to household supplies, including laundry detergents, baby products, stationary items, grooming, and personal care kits.

    All products are packed fresh and produced daily within Breadfast’s production facilities. The startup’s on-demand cloud supermarket ‘Breadfast Now’ delivers fresh bakeries and groceries in under sixty minutes.

    Breadfast is on a mission to revolutionize the way household goods are delivered to Egypt and drive the emerging markets to a world-class shopping experience.

    The Egyptian Food Bank is an NGO whose main mission is to fight and overcome hunger through effective feeding, development, and food saving programs all year long. The NGO established in 2005, has been working for over 15 years on preventing the society from facing social and economic effects that could hinder the community growth.

    This is great CSR if you ask us. Good Job Breadfast.

  • Laverie: Egyptian Laundry Services provider raises seed round led by A15

    Laverie: Egyptian Laundry Services provider raises seed round led by A15

    Laverie, the first dry-cleaning & laundry app, announced securing an undisclosed six-figure (USD) seed round from A15, the leading Egyptian tech investor.

    The upscale app has been operating since 2018 and currently boasts a month over month growth of 25%; catching the eye of A15, the leading tech investment giant which boasts an impressive array of successful startups.

    A15 also boasts the region’s first Dragon exit (TPay) not to mention its previous major exit which was the sale of Otlob, one of the region’s leading online food delivery businesses, to Rocket Internet.

    According to the announcement , Karim Beshara, A15 General Partner is quoted saying “We have noticed the work of the Laverie team, how they achieved early organic traction in the areas they operate in and the exceptional level of service they provide to their clients.”

    The managing team consists of Laverie’s founders, Ayman Gaballah and Mohab Aloush as well as newly joining CEO Hani Salama who brought in his experience running his 30 year old family-owned laundry business.

    We sat down with the team for more on consumer tech and the journey of Laverie onwards.

    Hani says “Most of my early career has been spent building and operating digital assets at an early stage of the market. One of the biggest challenges at that stage has always been converging the behavior of potential users from traditional physical experience into a digital one.”

    “My recent experience with the traditional laundry business grounded me with an insight of the psychology of customers.”

    With this currently acquired investment, the Laverie team intends to disrupt the service quality level for the Consumer-tech industry in Egypt.

    The Story

    We spoke to Ayman Gaballah about Laverie’s journey and plans he says “Even in finding the name for the app, we had a focus on premium and high-end quality of service. This is what Laverie is all about.”

    Laverie operates with a focus on seamless customer experience and journey while using the app as well as the quality of service and after-sales customer care.

    The company also offers order tracking, and various payment options for convenience.

    Ayman adds “We (Ayman and Mohab) had previous experience in the retail sector and launched several startups and software development initiatives in wholesale and healthcare.”

    “(When raising) we saw A15 as one of the best-fit tech investors for us. Considering their current mix of companies as well as a good track record of successful exits and portfolio companies’ growth.”

    Airing the Laundry

    Consumer tech is a highly evolved industry worldwide but Laundry takes precedence in how ‘delicate’ (no pun intended) the process might be when it comes to the Egyptian market.

    With pitfalls such as last mile pickup and delivery, payment and overall experience, the challenge can be quite interesting.

    Ayman explains “The Egyptian market has evolved big time, customers are much more into using technology and accepting new ways of communication and B2C relationships. On the other hand, the market is still struggling with the shift between cash and online payment, many customers still prefer cash, but we are on track.”

    Laverie offers several payment options as well as order tracking.

    Our biggest challenge will always be to maintain a superior quality and customer experience.

    Hani adds “I am hoping with my new team to be able to map a unique customer journey that smartly removes that barrier and positively affects our targets.”

    On their plans for the near future, Ayman says “ this seed round will fuel our coverage of Greater Cairo and expansion into several GCC countries while focusing on offering new services and optimizing the customer experience.”

  • Access Bridge Ventures: Exclusive Interview

    Access Bridge Ventures: Exclusive Interview

    Access Bridge Ventures is a leading early stage venture capital fund supporting budding entrepreneurs across MENA region & Pakistan.

    With their current role in funding the growth of Cassbana, Egypt’s 1st Financial Identities platform, Digital Boom interviews Issa Aghabi, Access Bridge Ventures (“ABV”) Founder and Managing Partner about their current roles and what the future holds for early stage investment in MENA.

    We have noticed ABV is primarily interested in Early Stage startups, when asked about their reasoning behind that.

    Issa says “We see a rising supply of early-stage startups with great potential but are facing challenges in obtaining the investments between seed and Series A. A portion of these startups end up dying due to the lack of funding. It could take a founder a longer period of time, then needed, to raise funds.”

    He adds that while this situation is evolving quickly and positively yet we can still see more room for support and investment.

    ABV is not a new-comer by any means, the partners has been investing in some exciting startups in the past 15 years. They collectively have over 8 exits in venture backed startups ahead of launching the fund. “This is what excites us the most.” Adds Agahbi.

    Issa Aghabi of Access Bridge Ventures
    Issa Aghabi, Managing Partner at Access Bridge Ventures

    Seed to Series A

    Access Bridge Ventures is positioning itself as the go to Seed to Series A investor; explains Issa. Typically, we strive to be “The First Institutional Investor” or major Co-investor while adopting a hand on approach to help add value and provide our investments with that an “unfair advantage” of some sort.

    We look to provide added value through leveraging our exceptional networks across the region, our collective investment and operational experiences, strong governance and overall discipline, he elaborates.

    He adds “We are happy to lead, co-lead and collaborate. Our goal is to invest in great entrepreneurs at the beginning of the journey and help them become industry leaders.”

    What the Future holds

    When asked about what industries are expected to boom and flourish in 2021 and the coming years, Issa notes that while the venture tends to focus on sectors they “understand and have subject matter expertise in”, the venture is also focusing on sectors that are relevant to the region and “jive with our pattern recognition thesis”.

    Issa sees the potential in Health-tech, Edu-tech, E-Commerce enablers & Marketplaces not to mention Enterprise Tech, SAAS and of course, Fintech.

    These industries support the underserved communities as well as budding businesses across the region which could largely support emerging markets’ goals.

    Making it or Breaking it

    So what are ABV’s must haves when it comes to choosing startups to work with?

    Issa says that while it differs based on the stage the venture is investing at but the top 5 characteristics every investor should be looking at are:

    1. TEAM TEAM TEAM  (Make it or Break it )
    2. Scalability and Market Size
    3. Traction / Sector Leader and Innovators
    4. Our Value add
    5. Clear exit path

    Issa adds” This was the case with Cassbana, they have a very strong founding team with clear experiences in founding successful startups, we found them to be honest, capable, smart and truly understand their business and industry.”

    In Cassbana, ABV team saw “amazing traction on operations and technology despite starting with limited capital in a short period of time.”

    He adds “This along the fact that we gathered a nice consortium of Investors for this round that are keen on adding value and driving success.”

    Making the Case for Fintech

    Issa says “we believe what is happening is merely the beginning for Cassbana, they are building a world-class technology that they keep on perfecting day by day in order to reach their own disruptive vision. “

    He adds that Cassbana is a prime example for successful Fintech company models “we believe this is exportable to other similar markets. This is a theme we have been seeing a lot in Egypt. Amazing people solving hyper local issues that are very relevant to other emerging markets.”

    “We also feel that the current offering is just scratching the surface. As we scale and grow that could be deepened and widened drastically.”

    What is next 

    With ABV freshly launched in 2021, Issa expects this to be “a pivotal year for us”.

    The venture has already invested in three companies with several others in advance  pipeline.

    Issa says the venture aims to invest in another 5-7 startups during 2021 with several follow-ons.

    He concludes saying “We are excited about the region and aim to invest across MENA including key markets such as Egypt, UAE and Saudi Arabia where we are seeing amazing traction and good people.”

  • Exclusive: Egyptian Fintech Startup NowPay Joins Y Combinator

    Exclusive: Egyptian Fintech Startup NowPay Joins Y Combinator

    Cairo-based fintech startup NowPay has joined Y Combinator’s Winter 21 batch, following a Memorandum of Understanding agreement with the Export Development Bank of Egypt (EBE).

    “We are very excited to be part of the Y Combinator network. Learning from the best of Silicon Valley is a huge growth enabler for NowPay. International recognition for a regional startup is something that we are very proud of accomplishing”, said Ahmed Sabry, NowPay’s co-founder, and CTO.

    Launched in 2019, NowPay provides corporate employees with a fintech solution to get their salaries in advance any time in the month through its mobile app, allowing access to emergency funding anytime and better management of their budget.

    The startup aims at lowering employees’ financial stress by improving the four pillars of financial wellness for employees; saving, spending, budgeting, and borrowing.

    The company raised $2.1 million in seed investment in May 2020 in a round that Foundation Ventures led and Endure Capital, in addition to investors from the U.S., UAE, China, and Egypt, after raising $600,000 in seed funding from Endure Capital and 500 Startups in 2019.

    NowPay has managed over $200 million in salaries and signed some leading companies, including SODIC, Wadi Degla, Domty, Beyti, and Axa.

    Mostafa Ashour, co-founder lead the startup, and CEO, who previously led the innovation teams at Microsoft; Ahmed Sabry worked at Amazon Lending; Gehan Fathi, former Managing Director at EFG; and Mahmoud ElHosseiny who managed Egypt sales for Stanley Black & Decker.