EGYPT – Egyptian fintech startup, Paymob will now be able to fast-track its regional expansion after successfully raising US$3.5 million in a round led by Globla Ventures and the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank FMO.
The startup will also use the proceeds to further expand its merchants’ network to enable it cope with rising demand.
Part of the funds will also be used in product development and in the establishment of a larger regional footprint.
Founded by Islam Shawky, Alain El Hajj and Mostafa El Menessy, Paymob is an infrastructure technology enabler providing payment solutions to empower digital financial service providers across Africa and the Middle East through mobile wallet technology.
The startup’s mobile wallet infrastructure processes more than 85 per cent of the market share of the transaction’s throughput in the Egyptian market.
It is also used by merchants across five different markets, including Kenya, Pakistan and Palestine, and serving millions of customers on a monthly basis.
Basil Moftah, general partner at Global Ventures, said his team was “incredibly excited” to partner with the Paymob team, as the need for financial inclusion is exacerbated by the current global pandemic.
Mofteh noted that Paymob has a unique market position to offer integrated infrastructure solutions and payment services across a range of payment methods and channels.
Shawky further noted that these unprecedented times have proven the need for a robust digital payments infrastructure to serve the rising demand from all business types and sizes.
He noted that during the pandemic, the company experienced a record 450 per cent increase in merchant on-boarding rate since the beginning of Covid-19, thus demonstrating the importance of digital finance to the economy.
Shawky thus noted that in a world where consumers are currently adopting digital products in all aspects of their lives, investing in Paymob would be timely as it will enable the startup’s products to empower the digital economy.
Paymob’s Chief operating officer El-Hajj explained that the startups’ merchants and partners would benefit directly from the funding as Paymob will ramp up investments in its core.
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