MNT-Halan, an Egyptian fintech startup, announced today a US$120 million investment from Apis Growth Fund II, Development Partners International (DPI), and Lorax Capital Partners, three prominent global and regional growth investors.
Middle East Venture Partners, Endeavor Catalyst, and DisruptTech have all backed the startup with venture financing. This round of funding indicates trust in the fintech opportunities in Egypt and strengthens MNT-Halan’s capitalization table. GB Capital, DPI, Algebra Ventures, Wamda, Nowaisi Capital, Unidelta, Egypt Ventures, Battery Road Digital Holdings, and Shaka VC are among MNT-previous Halan’s investors.
This funding supports MNT-Halan’s ambition to drive further innovation in its technology, product development, scale to tens of millions of customers, and expand cross-border by leveraging its first mover advantage, proprietary and highly scalable tech capabilities, and strong brand in Egypt.
Read also:2020 Africa’s Business Heroes competition
The investment also recognizes MNT- Halan’s size and long-term potential, having received micro, consumer, and nano finance licenses from the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority, as well as the first independent electronic wallet license from the Egyptian Central Bank.MNT-Halan has developed its scalable proprietary fintech ecosystem in-house, connecting customers, vendors, and micro-enterprises through its consumer facing app, merchant app, Halan Neuron (distributed lending and payment processing software), and payment solutions, with the goal of bringing seamless financial services to the unbanked and underserved customers in Egypt and the surrounding region (wallets and cards).
Why The Investors Invested
Commenting on the investment, Matteo Stefanel and Udayan Goyal, Managing Partners and Apis Partners Co-founders, said:
“We are thrilled to be investing in MNT-Halan, which is our first investment in Egypt. Our belief is that they will be the leading player digitizing the unbanked and bringing financial services to millions of underserved customers in the country, and we look forward to partnering with them to extend their impressive growth trajectory. We believe Mounir Nakhla’s track record, combined with MNT-Halan’s tech team and operational expertise, provide the ideal opportunity to invest in Egypt’s fintech sector.”
DPI Partner Sofiane Lahmar said:
“Since our partnership with Mounir and his team dating to 2018, MNT-Halan has rapidly evolved into a market-leading financial technology business, working to drive entrepreneurship and economic development in critically underserved markets. The company is well-positioned to benefit from Egypt and the region’s favourable demographics and rising adoption of digital technologies in its next growth phase. Our ADP III investment in MNT-Halan reaffirms our belief in the management team, and our commitment to the company and its long-term growth prospects, as we continue our focus on investing in high-growth, impact-driven companies from Africa’s fast growing middle class.”
Read also:Senegal-based Fintech Startup, Wave, Becomes Africa’s Latest Unicorn After A $200m Investment
Dr. Raouf Ghabbour, Executive Chairman of GB Auto, the parent company of GB Capital, said:
“Since GB Capital first supported Nakhla, the business has delivered on its strategy and has become the prime market player. MNT-Halan has huge potential and we are very excited to welcome these sophisticated investors with deep fintech and emerging markets expertise into our capital structure, laying the foundation for explosive growth in Egypt and beyond.”
MNT-Halan Founder and CEO, Mounir Nakhla, said:
“We are at the forefront of the digital revolution sweeping across Egypt, bringing together the unbanked population with our technology. We are on track to bring financial inclusion to tens of millions of Egyptians. As a result, we will unleash this segment’s earnings potential and drive greater participation in the economy.
A Look At What MNT-Halan Does
MNT-Halan is one of Egypt’s biggest and fastest-growing unbanked lenders. The company is situated in Cairo, Egypt, and was founded in 2018 with origins dating back to 2010. MNT-Halan was founded with the goal of digitally banking the unbanked and replacing cash with electronic alternatives. The Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority has granted MNT-Halan micro, consumer, and nano finance licenses, allowing it to provide services to both businesses and consumers across Egypt. It has also obtained the first independent electronic wallet license from the Central Bank of Egypt to disburse, collect and transfer money digitally through mobile applications.
Read also:A Proposed Anti-Cash Tax Law In Cameroon Aims At Increased Digital Payments
Traditional financial institutions are underserving and overlooking more than 70% of Egypt’s young and rapidly increasing population of over 100 million people, despite mobile coverage exceeding 90%. MNT-digital Halan’s solutions, which include lending, BNPL, e-commerce, payments, and on-demand logistics, help the organization achieve its mission of empowering underserved communities, reducing inequality, and increasing female economic participation. MNT-Halan services about 4 million customers in Egypt, with c.1 million monthly active users, including 3.1 million financial clients and 1.8 million loans. More than US$1.7 billion in loans have been disbursed by the company. It has a monthly throughput of more than $100 million dollars, which has grown over 20x in the past five years.
MNT-Halan Egyptian
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