MNT-Halan has reportedly closed a $130 million securitization.
As Egypt’s “first” unicorn and “fastest-growing” fintech, they’ve now “raised over US$ 400m in 2023, and target US$ 550 by the year’s end.”
MNT-Halan has closed five tranches of securitized bond issuances “through its microfinance and consumer finance wholly-owned subsidiaries in 2023, to date.”
The latest, coming in earlier this week, “at US$ 130 million through Cl Capital, follows four earlier this year from CIB Egypt.”
All issuances have been “over-subscribed.” The appetite for these issuances “reflects the resilience of MNT-Halan’s business model, the high quality of its loan book, and a robust pay-back ability of the underlying loan book.”
Having securitized over US $400 million “since the beginning of the year underscores the continued momentum of investor confidence.”
Founder and CEO Mounir Nakhla said:
“We are seeing very strong demand for off-balance sheet funding as we enter 2024. This is primarily a result of the high quality of our underwriting. This gives us great comfort as our loan book of US$ 650 million is growing at 4-5% month-over-month. We are excited to continue launching new digital financial products in Egypt and beyond.”
All the securitizations have “been rated Prime 1 for the short-term tranches, while the longer-term tranches varied between A and A+ by MERIS (Middle East Rating & Investor Service).”
In addition to CIB and CI Capital, participating regional and local financial institutions included Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Al Baraka Bank Egypt, among others.
As noted by its management, MNT-Halan claims it “is Egypt’s largest and fastest growing lender to the unbanked.”
Founded in 2018, with roots dating back to 2010, the company is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
MNT-Halan was created “to digitally bank the unbanked and substitute cash with electronic solutions.”
MNT-Halan has obtained “the micro, consumer and nano finance licenses from the Financial Regulatory Authority enabling it to provide services to both businesses and consumers across Egypt.”
It has also obtained “the first independent electronic wallet license from the Central Bank of Egypt to disburse, collect and transfer money digitally through mobile applications.”