Fawry, an electronics payment company in Egypt has entered into a contract with 12 domestic banks to provide electronic payment services via mobile phones, according. According to the company's CEO Ashraf Sabry, CEO of the company the company has already begun launching the service with a number of banks, and procedures to activate it with several other banks are ongoing. However, he refused to disclose the banks names for now. He noted that the company has lately been focusing on mobile phone services in light of the significant spread of mobile phones in the Egyptian market. The company aims to reach consumers across the country to support the government's efforts in spreading electronic solutions to promote a cashless system, in addition to facilitating payment of government fees to citizens and launching new international-standard services in Egypt. Mr. Sabry said that Fawry is currently offering over 100 e-payment services in cooperation with banks, noting that the company offers payment of phone bills, electricity, and water bills, donations, insurance, and online payments, as well as tickets, and car licence fees. The clients conduct over 1.5m transactions per day. That figure jumps to 1.8m transactions per day during holidays. According to Sabry, the company aims to increase its point of sales to reach 60,000 at the end of the year from a current number of 52,000. Moreover, he said that the company's investments range between EGP 30-40m per annum, with plans to increase the figure by 20% towards the end of the year. In November 2015, three international investment funds acquired 85 per cent of Fawry for $100m. These funds are the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund with a 20 per cent stake, Helios Investment Partners (on behalf of the funds to which it provides consulting) with a 40 per cent stake, and MENA Long-Term Value Fund with a 25% stake. The remainder of Fawry's shares are owned by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the management, which own 5 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively. Sabry pointed out that the new contributors are not thinking about selling their shares, saying that investors need at least five years to evaluate their investments. Furthermore, he ruled out the entry of new investors in the meantime. He also excluded listing the company on the Egyptian Exchange. He noted that new investments are funded from the company's own resources. Source: Africa Business Communities
