Egypt: Global Ventures and FMO participate in Paymob's $3.5m funding round
The Egyptian digital payment provider Paymob founded by Islam Shawky, Alain El Hajj and Mostafa El Menessy, announced it has raised $3.5 million investment led by Global Ventures and the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank FMO with a follow-on investment by A15. Paymob will be using the proceeds to further expand its merchants’ network to meet the continuously rising demand, product development and establishing a larger regional footprint.
Islam Shawky, Paymob’s co-founder and chief executive officer said, “In a world where consumers are currently adopting digital products in all aspects of their lives, now is the time to invest in Paymob products to empower the digital economy. These unprecedented times has proven the need for a robust digital payments infrastructure to serve the rising demand from all business types and sizes during the pandemic which resulted in a drastic increase of 450% increase in merchant on-boarding rate since the beginning of Covid-19.”
Alain El-Hajj, Paymob’s co-founder and chief operating officer said, “Paymob’s merchants and partners will benefit directly from this funding round as Paymob will ramp up investments in its core payments offering to better serve our existing base and better cater for the increasing demand. Empowering our merchants and partners networks in Egypt and Africa has and will always be at the heart and core of what we do at Paymob.”
Basil Moftah, general partner at Global Ventures highlighted, “We are incredibly excited to partner with the Paymob team, as the need for financial inclusion is exacerbated by the current global pandemic. Led by a dynamic team, Paymob has a unique market position to offer integrated infrastructure solutions and payment services across a range of payment methods and channels.”
Jaap Reinking, director for private equity at FMO said, “Paymob is an excellent fit with FMO’s Ventures Programme based on its exceptional team, innovative payment solutions and scalable fintech platform. In Egypt, Paymob contributes to one of the greatest digital transitions on the African continent – taking along underserved consumers and small businesses is at the heart of both Paymob and FMO’s mission.” The FMO Ventures Programme is a €200 million investment programme funded by FMO, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Commission targeting early-stage technology-enabled innovative business models in emerging markets.
Karim Beshara, A15 chairman added, “Since our initial investment in Paymob, the team has made significant strides in addressing the major issue of financial inclusion in our region. It is rewarding to be involved in a business that facilitates the way people transact every day and maximises the productivity of millions of people. We are proud to support a young and passionate team in their quest to revolutionise the development and advancement of financial systems in Egypt, our region and beyond.”
Reach Africa’s private equity community by publishing a Showcase Article on Africa Private Equity News. Contact us at editor@africaprivateequitynews.com for our rate card and more information.