Investment capital company Global Ventures said on Sunday that the three largest state-owned banks in Egypt are setting up an $85 million financial technology fund aimed at accelerating innovation in the sector.
Industry players said legislative and regulatory changes in Egypt over the past two years have paved the way for an increase in fintech investments and changed the way citizens, many of whom do not have bank accounts, do business.
Global Ventures, a partner in the fund that focuses on the Middle East and Africa, said in a statement that Banque Misr will act as a lead investor in the program, while the National Bank of Egypt and Banque du Caire will be strategic investors.
E-Finance Group for Financial and Digital Investments, a state-controlled payments company, and Egypt Banks, a payments operator managed by the central bank, will also participate in the fund. Global Ventures said the fund, which it named Includ, hopes to attract additional participation from regional and international investors.
The statement quoted Central Bank of Egypt Governor Tarek Amer as saying that the establishment of the fund is a crucial step to transform Egypt into a regional center for the financial technology sector in the Arab world and Africa.
The statement added that the fund has already made initial investments in four companies.
These companies are Khazna, a financial app that provides products to underserved consumers of this nature, Lucky, which offers premiums, cashback and credit rewards to consumers, and Farms Inc., which provides financing to small farmers for their inputs and provides markets and technical support, and PayMob for payment. mail.