Egypt's valU Now Joins EFG Hermes, Others in Acquiring Stake in Social Payment Startup, Kiwe
Egypt’s valU, a leading Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) lifestyle-enabling fintech platform in the MENA region, has today announced acquiring a minority stake in Egypt’s fintech startup, Kiwe, a foremost youth social payment app that facilitates onboarding the unbanked youth segment in Egypt. valU has now joined EFG Hermes Finance, EFG EV Fintech, dFin Holding, and Marakez as co-shareholders in Kiwe.
Kiwe’s fintech solutions are aimed at young people, as the firm capitalizes on their daily payment and social engagement hassles by leveraging them to easily collect, send, and spend money electronically. Furthermore, it provides a digital, simple, and cost-effective payment platform to small businesses and start-ups, alleviating the daily financial struggles faced by young entrepreneurs doing business. The fintech platform can be used at merchant outlets throughout Cairo. Kiwe also uses PayTabs Egypt, an EFG Hermes Holding subsidiary and part of its Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFI) platform, as its secure payment processing platform.
Kiwe recently partnered with Klickit to provide educational entities with a cashless payment system and reach more underserved communities of students who lack adequate understanding and possession of financial tools to facilitate daily payments, but this is the firm’s first investment this year, with plans to fundraise a seed round in the coming months.
valU is delivering on its vision of becoming a holistic financing powerhouse, providing progressive and convenient solutions to every aspect of people’s daily lives by combining its BNPL offering with Kiwe’s services. The investment also complements valU’s recent strategic acquisition of Paynas, a full-service employee management and benefits company that offers financial products to MSMEs such as payroll cards and digital salary advances.
What you should know about the deal
This minority stake in Kiwe expands on valU’s mission to accelerate the growth of cashless transactions, which benefits financial inclusion in Egypt. It also aligns with valU’s mission to expand its client base of young individuals and small businesses, and it will aid Kiwe’s growth by utilizing valU’s vast network of vendors from a variety of industries.
It also builds on Kiwe and valU’s existing partnership, which has seen them successfully collaborate on several large events, including Le Marche and Shababco. This collaboration made it possible for new exhibitors who had no prior access to payment solutions to participate.
What Egypt’s valU and Kiwe Stakeholders are saying
Habiba Naguib, Head of Strategy and Market Expansion at valU, commented on the investment, saying, “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, ensuring that we are easing financial burdens, driving financial inclusion, and adding convenience for millions of customers. Kiwe will benefit greatly from leveraging our vast and ever-expanding network of vendors because of its unique offering and simplified, engaging user experience. As a result, this is an investment that promises growth for all. We believe we can create more innovative financial solutions that open up 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.”
Furthermore, Kiwe Co-Founder, Omar Kamel on his part said “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 and in-demand services.” Bringing on a leading fintech player like valU is a critical step forward in our expansion strategy because it allows us to benefit greatly from their success and gain access to their vast network of vendors. We are confident that by aligning our companies on a common vision to provide seamless access to financial solutions and improve financial literacy, we will be amplifying long-term social and economic success.”