Money Fellows, which claims to be one of the leading Egyptian fintech platforms, announces the first close of its Series B round “with a $31 million investment led by CommerzVentures, Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), and Arzan Venture Capital.”
Invenfin, National Investment Company (NIC) as well as existing investors such as Partech, Sawari Ventures, 4DX, and P1Ventures also participated in the investment round.
Money Fellows is “a mobile-based platform that digitizes money circles or Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) that are widely known as ‘Gameya’ in Egypt and other Arab countries.”
Money fellows claims it is “the first to offer next generation digital ROSCAs globally.” Users can effectively “manage and plan their financial obligations and achieve their financial goals through the platform.”
Money Fellows “offers a secured and convenient alternative to traditional finance that is more social, culturally favorable, affordable, and incentivizing.”
With hundreds of thousands of monthly active users and a solid 8x YoY growth, the company has “become one of the favorite financial apps for Egyptians.”
The round will “allow Money Fellows to accelerate its exponential growth by diversifying its portfolio of services and expanding its product offerings across the B2C & B2B segments, as well as its geographical expansion.”
The market is “largely untapped and ripe for disruption with 2.4 billion people globally using money circles through traditional channels.”
Ahmed Wadi, Founder and CEO of Money fellows, stated:
“We are proud to share with our stakeholders and our users the progress and growth which led Money Fellows to become one of the market-leading FinTechs in Egypt, facilitating financial inclusion and digital transformation in the country. We wouldn’t have reached such an important funding milestone without the firm backing of our existing investors who understand and support the company’s vision as well as the perseverance and belief of our new partners in the company and the team’s ability to execute.”
Wadi added:
“The support we received from leading local and global venture capital firms in times of instability and scarcity of growth capital rounds is a testament to their faith and confidence in our business model, our team and the overall opportunity that lies in the Egyptian market.”
Hangwi Muambadzi, Venture Partner at CommerzVentures, said:
“Money Fellows is already a standout national success story, and we are incredibly excited to partner with the company as they begin the next phase in their growth journey. Ahmed and his stellar team have delivered a transformative solution that will continue to enable millions to achieve their financial goals. Rotating Savings and Credit Associations have been deeply embedded in emerging markets across the world for centuries. It is brilliant to see this new digital ROSCA-driven model emerge from Africa, creating a trusted model of delivering financial solutions and setting a new standard on using localised solutions to solve for global opportunities.”
Jad El Boustani, Managing Director, and Germine Bouchnack, Associate and Egypt’s Operations Manager at MEVP, said:
“What an inspiring journey Money Fellows have gone through! We have been following the company since its launch and we are impressed by what Ahmed and his team have achieved. Their ability to crack such a difficult model enables them to provide a highly recurring and sticky financing option to a largely untapped and underbanked population. Money Fellows is on track to become the go-to platform for financial services in emerging markets. We are very excited to become part of the company’s journey.”