Paymob, the Egyptian digital payment solutions, has raised $3.5m investments led by Global Ventures and the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank FMO with follow-on investment by A15.
Paymob will use the investment to empower the massively underserved small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with improved and more accessible digital payments offerings as part of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) efforts and initiatives towards nationwide digital financial inclusion. It will also accelerate its regional expansion, extending its products across Africa and the GCC, to strengthen its position as one of the leading payment service providers in the region.
Paymob’s mobile wallets infrastructure processes more than 85% of the market share of transactions made in Egypt. The company also serves merchants across five different markets including Kenya, Pakistan, and Palestine outside of its main market in Egypt. This makes the startup the first fintech, out of Egypt, to expand beyond the local market.
The company is continuously investing in its infrastructure, to cater to the digitisation of payments by empowering thousands of local and global merchants such as SWVL, ElGouna, Tradeline, Befit, Gourmet, and Metro market. It serves millions of customers on a monthly basis with premium online and in-store payment products.
Alain El-Hajj, Paymob Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO) said, “Paymob’s merchants and partners will benefit directly from this funding round, as Paymob will ramp up investments in its core payments offering to better serve our existing base and better cater for the increasing demand.”
He added, “Empowering our merchants and partners networks in Egypt and Africa has, and will always be, at the heart and core of what we do at Paymob.”
Basil Moftah, General Partner at Global Ventures said, “We are incredibly excited to partner with the Paymob team, as the need for financial inclusion is exacerbated by the current global pandemic. Paymob has a unique market position to offer integrated infrastructure solutions and payment services across a range of payment methods and channels.”
Jaap Reinking, Director of Private Equity at FMO, said, “Paymob is an excellent fit with FMO’s Ventures Program based on its exceptional team, innovative payment solutions and scalable FinTech platform.”
He added, “In Egypt, Paymob contributes to one the greatest digital transitions on the African continent – taking along underserved consumers and small businesses is at the heart of both Paymob and FMO’s mission.”
