Egyptian fintech platform MoneyFellows has secured $4 million in Series A investment from venture capital companies Partech and Sawari Ventures, Ahram Online reported on Monday. MoneyFellows is a financial enabler that digitises money circles (known as gam'eyas in the Arab world, chit funds in India, committee in Pakistan, Tandas in Mexico, and tontine in West and Central Africa) and is the first firm to cooperate with the Egyptian government and Central Bank of Egypt in the fields of financial inclusion and digital transformation. The new fund allows users to more effectively manage and fulfill their financial needs through the platform and will be used to expand the company's operations nationwide in Egypt as well as further across Africa with an aim of launching new products in the coming months, according to a statement. Currently, MoneyFellows has more than 150,000 active users that are verified by a user assessment algorithm. "Being backed by Partech and Sawari Ventures – two top investment firms – helps us reap global as well as local know-how, best practices and support. Partech's support from their African fund will help us expand into other countries in the continent with hands-on global expertise," according to founder and CEO of MoneyFellows Ahmed Wadi. "MoneyFellows is one of the most promising fintech companies to come out of the region; their fusion of technology and existing ROSCA culture solves both the problem of financial inclusion and helps people to better plan their personal finances," Managing Partner at Sawari Ventures Hany Al-Sonbaty said. Egypt kept its top place in the MENA region for funding and venture deals in the first quarter in 2020, according to a statement issued on Sunday by the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA). UAE-data platform MAGNiTT's recent report noted that Egypt's market saw 37 percent of deals in the region made in the first quarter of 2020, according to a statement. Total funds headed to start-ups in MENA rose by 2 percent compared to the same quarter of 2019, bringing the total fund to $277 million over 108 start-ups, according to the statement. MAGNiTT Intelligence also published a report about Egypt's start-up ecosystem, noting that Egypt has become the best market in MENA in this regard thanks to governmental and private initiatives.
