Telda, an Egyptian fintech startup, has raised $20 million in seeding funding led by Sequoia Capital and Global Founders Capital (GFC).
New investor Block, formerly known as Square, also participated; it’s the fintech giant’s second investment on the continent after crypto startup Yellow Card. Telda plans to use the new investment to support expansion into new markets and build its product offering.
Founded by Ahmed Sabbah and Youssef Sholqamy in 2021, Telda is a financial brand in the MENA region built for Millennials and GenZ to take the pain out of payment experience and peer-to-peer transfers. The startup is bringing a better way to send, spend and save money to anyone who has ever sought an alternative to the traditional banking system.
“In Egypt dealing with money is still a complicated matter; making it easy and straightforward will have a large impact not just on the economy but also on the society as a whole,” said Youssef Sholqamy, Telda’s co-founder, and a former engineer in Uber Technologies Inc.’s infrastructure team.
Speaking on the investment, Roel Janssen, a partner at lead investor Global Founders Capital, said, “We are incredibly excited to further strengthen our partnership with Telda. The company has launched a product that is better than most international consumer payments companies, and Ahmed and Youssef have attracted some of the brightest Egyptian talents in product, engineering, and Go-To-Market. We are confident that Telda will continue to amaze Egyptian customers with an outstanding product experience and exceptional service in the coming years.”
