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Egyptian Fintech ValU Rebrands, Shifting Away from ‘Buy-Now-Pay-Later’ Model

August 27, 2023

ValU, the prominent financial technology company headquartered in Egypt, has recently announced a comprehensive strategic change that encompasses rebranding and a shift in competitive positioning. This transformation underscores ValU’s evolution from being one of the largest providers of buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) solutions to becoming a versatile financial services technology enterprise. The rebranding serves as a pivotal step in ValU’s journey towards expansion and diversification of its product and service offerings, aiming to fortify its presence in the dynamic realm of financial services technology.

Evolution and Expansion

Since its inception, ValU has consistently upheld its position as a frontrunner in delivering innovative financial solutions that align with the changing preferences of its customers. Recognizing the continual advancements within the financial services technology sector, ValU remains dedicated to enhancing its technological infrastructure to provide an optimized user experience. This commitment is reflected in the modern and attractive design of its updated electronic application, which now comprehensively showcases all its offerings.

Under this strategic transition, ValU has absorbed Bynas products and services, amalgamating them under its own brand. Business-to-business (B2B) services are now provided under the ‘Value Business’ banner. The newly introduced ValU brand encapsulates values such as responsibility, innovation, agility, and a steadfast commitment to superior customer service. This rebranding encapsulates ValU’s transformation, bolstering its standing in the Egyptian market as the foremost institution in the financial services technology sector.

Diversified Portfolio

Walid Hassouna, the CEO of ValU, underscores the company’s journey since its launch in late 2017, emphasizing its impactful role in the financial services technology sector. ValU’s scope of operations has expanded beyond consumer financing services to encompass an array of offerings including cash-back services, savings solutions, investment products, an employee management services platform, and more. This strategic rebranding aligns with ValU’s portfolio diversity and its status as a specialized leader in financial services technology.

New Brands and Platforms

The revamped ValU brand umbrella encompasses several platforms and programs, each catering to distinct financial needs:

‘U’ Brand: ValU’s BNPL services are now consolidated under the ‘U’ brand. This includes financing plans and programs extending up to 60 months. Specific programs under this brand include:
“Shaqlbaz”: An instant cashback program for customers.
“Ma3ak”: Catering to undergraduate students aged 18 to 23.
“Family”: Extending consumer financing services to first-degree relatives over the age of 16.
“Alter”: A luxury shopping financing program enabling payments for high-value products.
“Business” Platform: This platform caters to companies (B2B) by providing solutions in human resources services. It includes salary and benefits transfer cards, along with various other financial services. This platform was acquired by ValU in 2022 and was previously known as “PayNas.”
“Akeed”: A novel savings product that allows individuals to save while also enjoying returns for future shopping.
“Flip”: A product facilitating instant money transfers and serving as a popular gift card solution in Egypt.
“Invest”: An investment platform providing flexible and competitive investment solutions. It includes the AZ ValU investment fund launched in collaboration with the “Azimut” group and the EFG Hermes ONE application, a prominent electronic platform for securities trading.

Acquisition Streak

ValU’s trajectory includes a series of strategic acquisitions that bolster its market presence and offerings:

Paynas: In 2022, ValU fully acquired Paynas, an online platform specializing in employee management services and offering a range of financial services to small, medium, and micro companies. Paynas has been rebranded as ValU.
Qiwi: ValU acquired a minority stake in Qiwi, a fintech startup responsible for developing the first social payment app for youth in Egypt.
PayTabs Egypt: ValU secured an indirect 2% stake in PayTabs Egypt, strengthening its position within the fintech ecosystem.
Hoods Platform: ValU acquired a minority stake in the Hoods platform, which specializes in e-commerce within the Middle East and North Africa region.
EFG EV Fintech: ValU holds a 10% stake in EFG EV Fintech, which serves as the accelerator and incubator for the EFG Holdings Group.

Expanding Footprint

ValU’s expansion is reflected in its impressive metrics:

Over 3 million transactions completed.
A merchant network exceeding 5,500 across 1,500 e-commerce platforms.
More than 1 million active app customers.
Gross merchandise value increased twofold to 5.8 billion Egyptian pounds by the end of 2022, compared to 2.4 billion pounds in 2021.

ValU’s journey is marked by its commitment to innovation, customer-centricity, and a strategic approach to acquisitions. Its rebranding underscores its evolution into a versatile financial services technology organization, poised to cater to a wide spectrum of financial needs across the Middle East and North Africa region.

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Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard

Egypt-based Fintech valU Acquires Minority Stake In Social Fintech Kiwe

October 21, 2022

valU announced the purchase of a minority share in local fintech company Kiwe, the first social payment app in Egypt that allows onboarding of the unbanked group.

EFG Hermes Finance, EFG EV Fintech, dfin Holding, and Marakez are among the company’s current shareholders.

Why The Decision To Acquire Minority Stake In Kiwe

Kiwe’s fintech solutions appeal to young people by capitalising on their everyday payment and social interaction issues by allowing them to effortlessly collect, send, and spend money online.

Habiba Naguib — Head of Strategy and Market Expansion at valU

Furthermore, it provides a modern, easy, and cost-effective payment platform to small businesses and startups, with the purpose of reducing the everyday financial problems experienced by young entrepreneurs doing business.

valU is executing on its aim of becoming a holistic financial powerhouse, providing modern and convenient solutions to every part of people’s everyday life, by merging Kiwe’s service offering with valU’s BNPL plans.

The transaction also complements valU’s recent strategic purchase of Paynas, a full-service personnel management and benefits firm that delivers financial solutions to micro, small, and medium-sized businesses such as payroll cards and digital salary advances (MSMEs).

The acquisition of a minority share in Kiwe expands on valU’s aim to accelerate the growth of cashless transactions, which benefits financial inclusion in Egypt. It also aligns with valU’s objective to expand its customer base of young folks and small enterprises, and it will aid Kiwe’s growth by utilising valU’s broad network of vendors from a variety of industries.

This investment builds on Kiwe and valU’s existing cooperation, which has seen them successfully collaborate on multiple significant events like as Le Marche and Shababco. This collaboration has also made it possible for new exhibitors who did not previously have access to payment methods to participate.

“This strategic investment in Kiwe comes as a natural step to further bolster our portfolio of financial services by extending more innovative solutions to MSMEs and young people. Serving these segments allows us to reach a larger population, ensure that we are alleviating financial hassles, drive financial inclusion, and contribute to greater convenience for millions of customers,” Habiba Naguib — Head of Strategy and Market Expansion at valU — said. “With its unique offering and simplified, engaging user experience, Kiwe will greatly benefit from leveraging our vast and ever-growing network of vendors. Hence, this is an investment that promises growth for all. We believe we can create more innovative financial solutions that unlock many opportunities for us and our users, creating long-term value for the people who rely on our services every day to improve their lives, grow their businesses, and positively impact their communities.”

Kiwe’s first investment this year, although the company expects to raise a seed round in the coming months.

“For us at Kiwe, valU’s investment is proof positive that we’re forging ahead in the right direction and signals confidence in our brand that offers unique services that are in high demand,” Co-Founder of Kiwe Omar Kamel said. “Having a leading fintech player such as valU onboard acts as a pivotal step forward in our expansion strategy by allowing us to benefit greatly from their success and giving us access to their vast network of vendors. With our companies aligned on a common vision set out to give seamless access to financial solutions and enhance financial literacy, we’re positive we will be amplifying sustainable social and economic success.”

Kiwe, which was founded in Egypt in 2018 by Omar Kamel, Fatma Ibrahim, and Mohamed Khalifa, targets youthful users by allowing them to gather, send, and spend money via its app. It also provides a digital payment network for small enterprises and startups, with the purpose of reducing the everyday financial problems that young entrepreneurs experience.

valU, created in 2017, is an EFG Hermes Holding company that offers a purchase now pay later (BNPL) service in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

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Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

Egypt’s ‘Buy-Now, Pay-Later’ Platform valU Gets $12.4M Investment From One Of Arab’s Richest Families

June 25, 2022

valU, an Egypt-based Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) lifestyle-enabling fintech platform, has announced that Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair, Salman Abdulaziz Alhokair, and Abdul Majeed Abdulaziz Alhokair (“Alhokair Family”) have agreed to acquire a 4.99 percent stake in valU for $12.4 million, valuing the company at $247.4 million.

The transaction, which is currently subject to relevant regulatory approvals and the fulfilment of certain conditions precedent, represents Alhokair Family’s first investment in an Egyptian BNPL platform, highlighting valU’s market strength and serving as a key stepping stone for the platform to establish strategic regional partnerships.

“We are extremely proud of the fact that Alhokair Family is now a shareholder in valU. Preceded by the announcement of valU’s entry into KSA last week — our first new-market entry since we began operations out of Cairo 5 years ago — the acquisition agreement cements our solid partnership with Alhokair, a retail powerhouse and a perfect partner on our journey to expand across the region,” said Walid Hassouna, CEO of valU. “valU has definitely filled a financing gap in the Egyptian market and supported financial inclusion. The business model that we created strives to have a positive daily impact on hundreds of thousands of consumers, retailers, and service providers across the country,” concluded Hassouna.

Here’s What You Need To Know

The deal follows valU’s entry into the Saudi market last week via FAS Finance, a joint venture (JV) with FAS Labs in which FAS Labs owns 65 percent and valU owns 35 percent. FAS Finance and the strategic alliance present a lifestyle-enabling solution to Saudi shoppers, with valU giving improved affordability and value for customers, all accessible via a single digital platform.

“We are thrilled to be further growing our partnership with the Alhokair Family. The transaction puts valU, the largest BNPL provider in Egypt, at a USD 247.4 million valuation, and is a testament to valU’s visible success story, business model, and potential for growth in Egypt and on a regional level,” said Karim Awad, Group CEO of EFG Hermes Holding. “We are proud to have grown a strong brand like valU that, since late 2017, has not only established itself as the leading BNPL platform but has also attracted the interest of the world’s largest retailer, Amazon, one of the most important brands globally, and now one of the region’s most prominent retail players, Alhokair,” concluded Awad.

valU is a rapidly expanding, innovative MENA financial platform that serves over 574,000 app clients in Egypt, the Arab world’s largest consumer market. valU presently has over 5,000 points of sale in its native nation, serving hundreds of thousands of clients who buy home furnishings, electronics, home appliances, fashion, vehicle spare parts, healthcare, education, and travel, among other things. With its introduction into the Saudi market, valU will be present across Alhokair’s extensive retail network of over 1,000 outlets, as well as online on the VogaCloset and monobrand websites, 14 of which will be in Saudi Arabia. It will also incorporate and cover the full Saudi market by extending to other vendors, retail networks, and merchants.

The Alhokair Family’s agreement to acquire a stake in valU signifies investors’ interest in the Egyptian NBFI space and positions it as a major innovator and exporter of financial inclusion solutions at a time when inflationary pressures in the country and the region are on the increase.

EFG Hermes Holding and Amazon entered into an option agreement last month in which Amazon committed to purchase USD 10 million in EFG Hermes GDRs with the option to replace that investment in valU at a later date, resulting in a stake of 4.255 percent of valU’s issued share capital.

Fawaz Alhokair is a Saudi billionaire property developer, and the 8th richest man in the Arab world.

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Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh