Back to the complete issue
Wednesday, 24 July 2019

Egypt’s first EGP 1 bn fintech fund to launch early 2020

Egypt’s first fintech fund to launch early 2020: The Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) EGP 1 bn fund to back fintech startups will be up and running at the start of next year, banking sources tell Al Mal. Several unnamed international and local institutions will invest alongside the CBE in the fund, which will focus its investment strategy on financing “both directly and indirectly” fintech venture capitalist funds and startup incubators and accelerators, the sources say. The fund will see its size increase within five years to c.USD 500 mn from an original USD 50-100 mn, the sources expect. The CBE is expected to announce soon types of businesses it will be looking to prioritize.

Background: CBE Governor TarekAmer first announced the fund during the 2018 Seamless North Africa digital and fintech conference, which saw former Prime Minister Sherif Ismail speak of plans to make Egypt a regional hub for fintech innovation. Advisory firm Ernst and Young has already finalized the fund’s bylaws and internal structure, according to sources with whom Al Mal spoke recently.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.