Tech

Egyptian fintech Paymob extends Series B funding to $72m as It expands across MENA

Published

3 weeks ago

September 15, 2024

Egypt-based payment fintech, Paymob, has announced successfully raising an additional $22 million in a Series B extension, bringing its total Series B funding to $72 million which will see it pursue its growth strategy at home and in the wider MENA region.

The extension round was led by EBRD Venture Capital with participation from Endeavor Catalyst while existing investors PayPal Ventures, BII, FMO, A15, Nclude and Helios Digital Ventures also participated in the round.

Co-founder and CEO of the Paymob, Islam Shawky, who made the announcement, said the extension round follows Paymob’s continued profitability in its core market of Egypt, having recorded 6x revenue growth since the initial Series B funding in Q2 2022.

“We are very excited by our strong prospects in Egypt – where we hold a market-leading position – and the significant traction experienced in the UAE since launching operations there.

“This funding will help Paymob to fully capitalize on the momentum in our established markets, as we accelerate our GCC rollout. We remain committed to creating a cutting-edge infrastructure enabling SMEs across the region to thrive in the digital economy and are proud of our continued impact,” Shawky said.

The payment platform which was founded in 2015 by Shawky, Alain El Hajj and Mostafa Menessy, is an infrastructure technology enabler providing payment solutions to empower digital financial service providers through mobile wallet technology.

According to its profile on its website, the fintech’s omnichannel gateway offers more than 50 payment solutions and empowers close to 350,000 merchants with access to innovative financial services. It has expanded to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Related Topics:Egypt Featured Funding Paymob

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Tech

Nigeria’s agri-tech startup Winich Farms raises $3m to expand operations

Published

21 hours ago

October 8, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Nigerian agri-tech startup specialized in the supply of farm grain produce to retailers, Winich Farms, has announced raising $3 million in pre-series A funding to expand its operations which include the enhancement of its order fulfillment centers and upgrade of its technology.

The funding round, which was led by Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF), with a contribution of $2.5 million, alongside participation from Climate Resilient Africa Fund, Marula Square, Plug and Play Tech Centre, Acasia Ventures, Tekedia Capital and Additio Sahel Capital which provided $590,000 in debt financing, marks the company’s second funding round in two years.

The startup which was founded by brothers Riches and Winner Attai, along with Chichebem Jibunoh, in 2020, connects rural farmers to off-takers, retailers and informal processors, by operating collection points managed by agents who handle orders from off-takers.

“Our growth has largely been driven by the expansion of agents on our platform,” Riches, the CEO of the company said in a statement.

“In 2022, we had approximately 1,000 agents, but by the beginning of 2024, we had grown to over 4,000 agents, quadrupling our capacity. With more agents, we are able to meet demand more efficiently,” he said.

He however, added that company’s current model faces challenges, as its partner farmers are primarily located in northern Nigeria, leading to slower deliveries to more distant regions such as Lagos. Despite this, the agritech company claims to serve over 150,000 users, including farmers, agents, and truck drivers.

“To speed up deliveries for retailers in Lagos, instead of sourcing produce like rice from farmers in faraway Kebbi or Kaduna, we process orders from closer locations such as Ondo State,” explained Riches.

“For example, when a retailer orders 50 kilograms (kg) of rice via the company’s mobile app, the order is relayed to agents for bidding. These agents then coordinate with local farmers in the area to gather the produce, which is transported to collection points and handed over to truck drivers for delivery within 24 to 72 hours.”

“The solution is to establish fulfillment centers. The debt funding will be used to lease buildings that will serve as regional distribution hubs across Nigeria’s six geo-political zones, reducing delivery times for off-takers,” he added.

Tech

15 startups emerge winners in 4th Egypt Entrepreneur Awards

Published

2 days ago

October 7, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Organizers of Egypt’s Entrepreneur Awards have announced 15 startups as winners of the fourth edition of the annual awards held on Sunday in Cairo.

This year’s edition of the awards which had the theme “Breaking Silos Together: Building Resilience and Embracing Opportunity”, was sponsored by ievents and Tatweer Misr, along with EGBANK, Orange Egypt, PepsiCo and others.

According to the organizers, the Outstanding Youth Entrepreneur Award went to Sight founder Hussein Shahbender, while the Sports and Wellness Award went to SR Padel and the Disruptor of Traditional Industries Award to ILLA Logistics.

2oolameme was named Art to Business Award winner, with the Content Innovation Award going to Peace Cake and the Digital Solutions and Customer Experience Award given to Synapse Analytics.

The Environmental Sustainability Award went to Mozna, the Fashion Vanguard Award to Pepla, and the Fintech Excellence Award to Menthum while the Global Reach Achievement Award went to Technobit, and the Local Hero Award went to Raw African.

The Product Design & Innovation Award was won by SAL, while Willy’s won the Quick Serve Restaurant Champion Award and Reme-D the Rising Star Award, just as Rology and Astrazeneca took home the Disruptive Duo Award, rounding off the winners.