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Wednesday, 28 September 2022

Trella locks in smart financing from Contact + Aman now offers Islamic and nano financing

B2B logistics marketplace Trella has inked an agreement with Contact Financial designed to give it and the carriers it works with the access to finance they need to grow, the companies announced (pdf) yesterday.

Driving business growth: Under the agreement, two Contact units will provide Trella’s carriers (both individuals and small businesses) with financing for new trucks. Contact Creditech, meanwhile, will finance carriers’ purchases on Trella Store, which sells carriers spares including tires, brakes and engine lubricants as well as maintenance services.

Trella itself will grow with Contact Factoring, which is offering the high-profile startup working capital finance. In tapping Contact, Trella has made a smart move, locking in its own working capital finance needs and while embedding finance in its platform to lock in the continued loyalty of carriers who are being squeezed by high inflation.

Trella closed one of Egypt’s largest-ever series A rounds last year, raising USD 42 mn in a round co-led by Maersk’s VC arm. The company said at the time that the money would be used to expand in the MENAP region and develop its platform.

Contact has pushed heavily into finance for the startup space, having recently inked agreements with Wasla, Carzami, Nawy, Sakneen and others.

AMAN PUSHES INTO ISLAMIC AND NANO FINANCE-

Raya Holding subsidiary Aman Microfinance has launched Islamic financing and nano financing services after receiving licenses from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), it said in a statement (pdf) yesterday.

A EGP 70 mn starter loan book: Aman has allocated EGP 60 mn to Islamic finance and EGP 10 mn to nano finance in an initial phase, the company said. It wants to lend EGP 45 mn of Islamic finance and EGP 4 mn of nano finance over the coming 12 months.

What it’s offering: Aman is offering Shara-compliant loans of between EGP 6k and EGP 5 mn with a repayment period ranging between 6-36 months. Its nano finance offering will see it lend up to EGP 3k per transaction. Aman has been after a nano financing license since 2020.

The first entrant in the sector is Kashat, which has now written 100k loans and is available nationwide.

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