TO SUPPORT TECH INNOVATION... BANQUE MISR, NBE, AND CAIRO BANK ANNOUNCE INVESTMENT IN THE FINTECH FUND "ENCLOD"

A group of Egyptian national banks; Banque Misr, NBE, Cairo Bank and Global Ventures, one of the leading companies in the MENA region in Venture capital, announced the launch of the "ENCLOD " Fintech Fund following the approval of the Central Bank of Egypt.

This unprecedented step follows the strategic direction of the State to support the young innovators who will have responsibility for building the future of the Egyptian economy. The "ENCLOD " Fund aims to promote innovation in fintech and financial inclusion. Banque Misr, the principal investor in the Fund, the National bank of Egypt and Cairo bank, contributed totaling US $85 million in the Fund.

The Fund is expected to attract additional investment from prominent regional and international investors, which will make it the largest investment platform for startups in the fintech sector in Egypt, and the MENA. In addition to investing in startups, the Fund will be supported by “Shipyard Technology Ventures” which offers high - tech capabilities to the Egyptian market to help create new fintech companies.

The Fund's first investment was directed at four companies:

• Khazna: An Egyptian tech company that specializes in e-financial solutions through its app.
• Lucky: a leading application in the provision of fintech services in Egypt. It provides e-payment services, retail and cashback offers.
• Mozare3: an Agritech startup that aims to digitize the agricultural sector in Egypt and the Middle East through a smart application to meet farmers' financial and non-financial needs.
• Paymob: launched in 2015, Paymob works as a provider of integrated e-payment solutions in Egypt, Africa and the Middle East. It aims to facilitate the receipt of various e-payments (cards, installments, e-wallets) for merchants both online and through payment machines to develop their business.

On this occasion, Mr. Tariq Amer, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, stated:

This step comes in the light of the guidance of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to support and sponsor young innovators in the emerging fintech and technological sectors, and to implement the strategy of the Central Bank of Financial Technology and Innovation, which aims to create a supportive climate for the fintech industry, and to enable more innovative fintech applications capable of delivering banking and financial services to all segments of society more easily, and less expensive, as an important step towards achieving digital transformation and transforming Egypt into a regional center for the Arab and African financial technology industry.

The strategy is based on several integrated axes; supporting fintech leaders, providing a legislative and regulatory environment for the fintech industry, working to meet the demand side of fintech services, as well as targeting increased financing for emerging fintech projects.

Mohamed El-Etreby, the Chairperson of Banque Misr, commented: “Banque Misr’s contribution in this fund reflects our commitment to keeping pace with global developments in fintech, which is the future of banking and financial services in Egypt and the world. This fund will bring many benefits to the Egyptian economy by supporting young talents in the fintech sector within the country and creating an ideal environment that will enable them to develop innovative solutions that will contribute to making banking and financial services available to all segments of society in a more efficient and affordable manner. "

“This is an important step towards transforming Egypt into a regional center for the fintech sector in the Arab and African regions. The Fund will help to increase financial coverage and accelerate the pace of digital transformation in Egypt, which is a key element of Egypt's vision 2030,” added El-Etreby.

Hisham Okasha, the NBE Chairperson, said that the Fund aims to sponsor fintech startups, especially in their early stages, as well as promising talents in the field of fintech as one of the entities capable of achieving gains for the Egyptian economy, in addition to creating the right environment to attract, nurture and localize talent in the Egyptian market to provide innovative applications in this field and support innovation in the digital banking and financial services sector to reach all segments of society more easily and less affordably in order to promote digital transformation and promote financial inclusion. This is part of the leading role played by the Central Bank of Egypt in supporting innovation in the fintech sector and its nutritional sectors in order to achieve the objectives of Egypt's Strategy 2030 and in keeping with the strategy of the National Bank of Egypt on digital transformation.

Within the same context, Mr. Tarek Fayed, the Chairperson and CEO of Cairo Bank, said “The launch of the Fund presents unique and distinct opportunities for financial institutions to partner with investors and entrepreneurs to find new financial technological solutions, noting that such solutions not only improve the quality of current services, but also contribute to the development of new services, using the latest technology based on information technology, to attract unbanked people."

“The participation of the three banks as major investment entities in this fund represents a strategic development dimension that will benefit the Egyptian economy as a whole and transform the country into a regional center for innovation in the fintech sector, in line with the vision and direction of the Central Bank of Egypt."

Basil Moftah, a general partner at Global Ventures, said “We would like to thank all the investors in this Fund for their trust. Over the past few years, we have had the privilege of forging partnerships with many of the business leaders in the Middle East and Africa region, focusing our challenge on the fintech sector and Egypt as a high-priority market. "

“Egypt has an enormous number of unbanked young people, with a predominantly monetary economy. This provides a significant opportunity for local and regional companies operating in the fintech sector, which are experiencing superior growth in the market. In this regard, we look forward to partnering with all parties involved in entrepreneurship to continue efforts to support this growth and transform Egypt into a regional center for fintech innovation.”

Islam Darwish, the CEO of Nclude Fund said “Over the past few years, Egypt has made a qualitative leap to becoming a vital home for entrepreneurship, especially in fintech thanks to contemporary laws and government decisions, as well as growing partnerships with financial institutions. Fintech startups are expected to have a vital role in the digital economic transformation and support for Egypt's expansion of financial services.”

“We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with the largest Egyptian national banks and the most prominent local fintech companies such as E-Finance and Egypt Banks company, as well as international investors, which will provide aspiring entrepreneurs with the tools to succeed and compete at the local, regional and global levels and to contribute to Egypt's social and economic development.”