Barely one year old, Cairo-based fintech startup Kashier has secured its funding from outside investors. Although the exact size of the investment was not disclosed, the investment came from the UK-based firm Glint Ventures, with participation from other undisclosed investors.
“The current global pandemic in addition to the Central Bank of Egypt’s commitment to financial inclusion have caused a major structural shift in the market towards electronic payments, and Kashier’s robust technology is perfectly positioned to capture and handle the increased demand for digital payments. We are excited to be joined by our investors who share our vision for a more digital and inclusive economy,” said Khaled Raslan, the co-founder and CEO of Kashier.
- With the new funding, the Egyptian startup will expand its team and introduce new products.
Why The Investors Invested
Glint Ventures, which is the investment arm of Glint Ventures Media limited, a digital marketing agency, has been active in startups based in Egypt. The VC was part of the $1 million fund raise for the Cairo-based consumer tech startup Wasla, in December 2019. Although the Egypt’s fintech landscape is already crowded, with the likes of Fawry, that recently achieved a unicorn status, being a major leader, the previous experience of the startup founder Khaled Raslan at Elements Financial Technologies which pivoted into Kashier seemed to have assisted in Kashier’s latest fund raise. Also assisting the startup in the fundraise is its ability to acquire a Payment Facilitator and Payment Service Provider license from Central Bank of Egypt, a year after the Payment Service Provider licensing regime was introduced in the north African country, thus distinguishing the startup from Egypt’s saturated fintech market. The startup also noted in a statement that it has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with two of Egypt’s leading acquiring banks, a strong factor that could easily function to pull any investor to the table. And finally, Kashier’s founders might have also exploited Egypt’s growing network of founders who already have access to VCs.
“Fintech companies are already disrupting and reshaping the financial services world as we know it. We are excited about this investment that would address the electronic payment needs of Egyptian businesses, reinforce the digitization of the economy and help bridge the fintech gap,” Tarek Aboualam, Managing Partner at Glint, said.
Read also: Egypt: Food-tech Startup Yumamia Raises $1.5 million For Expansion to Saudi
A Look At What The Startup Does
Launched in 2019 by Khaled Raslan, Mohamed Hossam, and Mohamed Mohsen, Kashier enables ecommerce and retail businesses to accept payments using its platform. The businesses can use Kashier on their website or mobile app using easy integration options.
“Kashier empowers businesses with a unified payments platform by providing them with simple yet efficient tools to make it easier for them to make and accept payments from and to their customers, vendors, and partners via a variety of payment methods and channels,” noted the startup in a statement.
The businesses that don’t have a website can create payment requests using Kashier’s platform and share it with their customers through social media, email, or even SMS. The customers can then pay using different types of payment options on Kashier’s payment page. It also supports recurring payments.
According to its website, the payment methods it currently supports include Visa, Mastercard, and Meeza. Kashier also allows merchants to accept payments made via international cards.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer