Fintech start-up PayMint announced that it has secured a seven-figure seed funding round from the AUR Fintech Fund of AUR Capital Group as part of its expansion plan in the fintech sector for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt. PayMint launched its services in the local market in 2019 and works to provide fintech services to small- and medium-sized companies, especially salary payments, working capital financing, and supplier payments. Mohamed Rabie — the Managing Director of PayMint — said: "We are proud of our partnership with AUR Fintech, and we aim to use the funding round to support our expansion of the services PayMint offers to its SME clients and to provide new services, such as providing microfinance and bill payments." The company also aims to use this financing round to expand the scope of its services to include more corporate payments, provide new services to corporate beneficiaries, and other financial services that would enhance the financial inclusion of beneficiary companies or individuals in a way that promotes comprehensive and sustainable economic growth. He pointed out that the company is working to exploit the positive stimulating climate for emerging companies in Egypt — especially in the field of fintech — to achieve more progress and enhance its services to more customers, and that it aims to issue about 150,000 Meeza cards to beneficiaries during the current year after obtaining the necessary approvals. For his part, Mohamed Yehia — Vice Chairperson of PayMint — praised the steps taken by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) in light of the Egyptian state's directions to support emerging companies, including the launch of the report that highlighted the latest developments in the fintech environment in Egypt. He also commended the initiatives issued by the CBE, adding that the matter has shifted from a mere future vision to actual studied steps for the development of the market, linking all parties to the system and studying everything related to it, starting with emerging companies, to matters related to the founders and the requirements for building the market. He expects that the fintech sector in Egypt will witness continuous growth, and that Fintech Egypt — which is affiliated with the CBE — would play a major role in supporting the sector and linking all parties to the system. "We believe that the future of development in society is based on technology, and that the growth of SMEs is based on the services they receive in the field of payments that PayMint is distinguished in providing," said Mohamed Farouk — the President of AUR Fintech. Furthermore, Mohamed Qamoura — Head of Investments at AUR FinTech — said that SMEs represent the largest percentage of the GDP in the Egyptian economy, and at the same time, these companies do not find sufficient services to grow their businesses. "We see that PayMint occupies a leading position to provide services to this type of companies, while at the same time supporting the strategy and vision of the AUR Fintech Fund in reaching unbanked categories, thus enhancing the rate of financial inclusion," Qamoura added. PayMint was established by a group of banking and technology experts with accumulated years of experience of more than seventy years, where Mohamed Yehya — the co-founder — held a position in one of the largest electronic payment companies, and the co-founding experts included former officials in government agencies and E-finance Investments Group. Mohamed Rabie — the CEO of the company — held several positions in product development at the National Bank of Egypt as well, and he was also a business development consultant for an international company specialising in electronic payment.
