Egypt's Connect Money Secures $8M Seed Funding to Roll Out a One-Stop-Shop Embedded Finance Platform
Connect Money, an Egyptian-based banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform focusing on embedded finance services, has secured $8 million in seed funding co-led by Egypt-based VCs DisrupTech Ventures, Algebra Ventures, and Lorax Capital Partners, with participation from One Stop Capital and MDP.
Founded early this year by Ayman Essawy, Wadi Jalil, and Abdelaziz Sarhan, who saw the opportunity to help businesses bank their customers, Connect Money offers a comprehensive white-label card-issuing platform that enables businesses to provide their customers with debit and credit cards without the need to develop fintech infrastructure or obtain regulatory licensing. Their state-of-the-art solutions encompass digital payments, instant financing, and access to a network of over 20,000 marketplace partners.
The firm equally provides end-to-end support, including white-labeled card issuance, distribution, KYC, customer support, and mobile banking app development, simplifying the payments experience for their clients and their customers all through a unique SaaS offering.
Commenting on the round, Ayman Essawy, co-founder and CEO of Connect Money, said, “We are immensely proud to announce the closure of our seed funding round, a testament to the confidence and support extended by our investors, Disruptech Ventures, Algebra Ventures, Lorax Capital Partners, One Stop, and MDP. This significant seed investment underscores our hyper-growth potential as we strive to eliminate existing pain points for businesses aiming to become financially enabled.”
As a third-time founder having built Dsquares (2012) and Lucky ONE (2019) along with veteran co-founders Marwan Kenawy and Momtaz Moussa, Essawy is optimistic about enabling non-financial institutions to accelerate their growth by feeding more efficiencies to their existing operations and generating new revenue streams from banking services.
This substantial investment, which indicates the investor's confidence in the young startup, will enable it to take a shot at the BaaS market projected to reach $22.6 billion by 2032, sustained by a 19.3% CAGR. It will equally be utilized for its continuing growth path in existing markets such as Egypt and Morocco, fueling innovation and advanced technology capabilities, and accelerating new market entries with a prime focus on Africa. Additionally, Connect Money will also leverage the funds to launch five new business verticals that will be announced separately in Africa and the Middle East, emerging as the go-to platform for businesses seeking seamless banking services in the regions.
Mohamed Okasha, Managing Partner of Disruptech Ventures, said, “We are proud to partner with Connect Money to revolutionize embedded finance in MENA. This investment demonstrates our commitment to supporting solid teams that build disruptive technologies for financial inclusion and digital transformation.”
“Connect Money’s expertise, deep market knowledge, and cutting-edge integrated tech will greatly enhance accessibility and efficiency in financial services, benefiting the fintech-enabled ecosystem and transforming banking operations while positioning Egypt as a valuable hub for exporting embedded finance services,” he added.
Omar Khashaba, General Partner at Algebra Ventures, said, “Ayman is an incredible entrepreneur who has co-founded some of the most successful startups in MENA, including Dsquares and Lucky. We have been part of his journey since the very beginning and are excited to be backing him once more as he addresses a massive fintech infrastructure gap in the region.”
“Connect will allow companies to issue cards to their customers, partners, or suppliers without having to build fintech infrastructure, obtain regulatory approval, or partner with a bank. Companies can just focus on their core business and let Connect do all the heavy lifting,” Khashaba added.
Mohamed Sadek, Managing Partner at Lorax Capital Partners, highlighted, “We are excited to partner for the third time with the founders of Connect Money in their latest venture in the banking-as-a-service space. We believe there is a strong need for the Connect solution in the region and beyond. This makes us extremely bullish on its prospects for transforming how numerous businesses deal with their customers, suppliers, and merchants.”