Venture capital (VC) investments directed to the fintech and fintech-enabled startups are witnessing have surged 300 percent in Egypt during 2021, according to a central bank report released on Tuesday. Egypt FinTech Landscape Report 2021 traced the significant upsurge in venture capital investments directed to the fintech and fintech-enabled startups. The recently issued report by FinTech Egypt – an initiative powered by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) – revealed the unprecedented growth rate of 300 percent in investments' funding amounts attracted by this sector, during 2021 on a standalone basis. The report also exhibited the extensive progress in the fintech industry, starting with only two startups in 2014 to a total of 112 Egyptian fintech and fintech-enabled startups by 2021, with a strong uptrend of 55 times. This positioned Egypt among the top four active African countries in the fintech industry. It also accentuated the factors supporting fintech industry's growth in Egypt. The North African country witnessed a leap in financial inclusion with rates reaching 56.2 percent, the expansion of mobile internet usage, reaching 57.3 percent of total population, in addition to more than 18 of fintech supporting organisations. This includes incubators, accelerators, investors, and supporting organisations in all fields of financial technology. Egypt fintech landscape also emphasised a sum of $250 million has been injected into the fintech & fintech-enabled startups in the last five years, from $0.9 million in 2017 to $159 million in 2021. Moreover, an uptrend of FinTech deals by 10 times between 2017 and 2021 (from only three deals in 2017 to 32 deals in 2021). It also revealed that 43 percent of fintech and fintech-enabled startups are looking forward to raise seed funding. The report comes in context with CBE's efforts in promoting the expansion of fintech applications, monitoring developments in this vital industry, and providing a comprehensive overview of the capabilities and needs of fintech contributors. It also identifies the potential areas for support, collaboration, and partnership among fintech ecosystem stakeholders, to achieve financial inclusion and digital transformation goals in Egypt.
