Egypt: Connect Money raises $8m seed funding
The banking-as-a-service company has closed its seed funding round, led by Disruptech Ventures and Algebra Ventures.
Connect Money, the banking-as-a-service fintech company focusing on embedded finance services, has closed its seed funding round of $8 million, led by venture capital firms Disruptech Ventures and Algebra Ventures.
Egypt-based Connect Money offers a comprehensive white-label card issuing platform that enables businesses to provide their customers with debit and credit cards without the need to develop fintech infrastructure or obtain regulatory licensing. Its state-of-the-art solutions encompass digital payments, instant financing, and access to a network of over 20,000 marketplace partners. The company provides end-to-end support, including white-labelled card issuance, distribution, KYC, customer support, and mobile banking app development, simplifying the payments experience for their clients and their customers all through a unique SaaS offering.
This round will enable Connect Money to launch five new business verticals that will be announced separately in North African markets.
“We are immensely proud to announce the closure of our seed funding round, a testament to the confidence and support extended by our investors Disruptech Ventures, Algebra Ventures, Lorax Capital Partners, One Stop and MDP. This significant seed investment underscores our hyper-growth potential as we strive to eliminate existing pain points for businesses aiming to become financially enabled,” said Ayman Essawy, co-founder and CEO of Connect Money.
“We are proud to partner with Connect Money to revolutionise embedded finance in MENA. This investment demonstrates our commitment to supporting solid teams that build disruptive technologies for financial inclusion and digital transformation,” stated Mohamed Okasha, managing partner of Disruptech Ventures.
“Connect Money's expertise, deep market knowledge, and cutting-edge integrated tech will greatly enhance accessibility and efficiency in financial services, benefiting the fintech-enabled ecosystem and transforming banking operations while positioning Egypt as a valuable hub for exporting embedded finance services,” he added.
“Ayman is an incredible entrepreneur who has co-founded some of the most successful startups in MENA, including Dsquares and Lucky. We were part of his journey since the very beginning and are excited to be backing him once more as he addresses a massive fintech infrastructure gap in the region,” said Omar Khashaba, general partner at Algebra Ventures.
“Connect will allow companies to issue cards to their customers, partners or suppliers without having to build fintech infrastructure, obtain regulatory approval or partner with a bank. Companies can just focus on their core business and let Connect do all the heavy lifting,” added Khashaba.
Mohamed Sadek, managing partner at Lorax Capital Partners, highlighted, “We are excited to partner for the third time with the founders of Connect Money in their latest venture in the banking-as-a-service space. We believe there is a strong need for the Connect solution in the region and beyond. This makes us extremely bullish on its prospects in transforming how numerous businesses deal with their customers, suppliers, and merchants.”
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