Sequoia makes first investment in North Africa
Telda, a Cairo-based digital banking app, has raised a $5 million pre-seed funding round, led by Sequoia Capital with participation from Global Founders Capital and Class 5 Global.
The startup also announced it has become the first company to receive a licence from the Central Bank of Egypt under the new Banking Agents regulations, empowering it to issue cards and on-board customers to its digital app.
Telda was founded by Ahmed Sabbah, the co-founder and former CTO of Swvl, and Youssef Sholqamy, a former senior engineer in Uber’s infrastructure team. The startup’s core team has a strong track record of building mass-market consumer products globally – with experience from Facebook, Microsoft, Mckinsey and Noon.
Telda co-founder and CEO Ahmed Sabbah remarked, “We refer to Telda as The Money App. It is the first digital banking experience in Egypt, enabling customers to create a free account in seconds, receive a free Telda card to use online, in stores and to withdraw cash from any ATM worldwide and pay bills all directly from their phone. Telda customers will also be able to send and receive money instantly and for free from friends, family and anyone with a mobile phone, as easy as sending a Whatsapp message.”
Telda CTO, Youssef Sholqamy added, “Today’s funding milestone promotes the digital transformation of the Egyptian economy and allows Telda to provide everyone with access to important financial services so they can fully participate in the economy.”
Sequoia partner George Robson commented, “There are many parallels between Brazil and Egypt. Both countries boast a large, young, talented and tech-savvy population with a strong appetite to innovate. We are delighted to partner with Telda and earmark our first investment in the region.”
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