Egypt’s three biggest state-owned banks are setting up an $85 million financial technology fund that aims to accelerate innovation in the sector, Reuters reports citing venture capital firm Global Ventures, a partner in the fund.
Global Ventures, which focuses on the Middle East and Africa in a statement said Banque Misr will act as an anchor investor in the program, with National Bank of Egypt and Banque du Caire as strategic investors.
The fund called Nclude also includes eFinance Investment Group, a state-controlled payments firm, and Egyptian Banks Co, a payments operator led by the central bank.
Nclude reportedly according to Egyptian central bank governor Tarek Amer the establishment of the fund was “a crucial step to transform Egypt into a regional center for the fintech industry in the Arab World and Africa.”
The fund has already made preliminary investments in four companies namely Khazna, a financial app that provides products to underserved consumers; Lucky, which offers installments, cashback rewards and credit to consumers; Mozare3, which provides small farmers with input financing, markets and technical support; and Paymob, a digital payment provider.
