Egyptian Fintech MNT-Halan Secures $120M Funding

Financial Inclusion in Egypt: MNT-Halan Secures $120 Million Investment

A significant portion – exceeding 70% – of Egypt’s youthful and rapidly expanding population, numbering over 100 million, currently lacks adequate access to financial services. Despite widespread mobile phone adoption, with penetration rates surpassing 90%, a considerable gap remains.

Conventional banking institutions frequently overlook this demographic due to perceived limitations in their spending capacity or established financial histories. This void has created a substantial opportunity for fintech companies to address their unique requirements.

MNT-Halan: A Leading Fintech Ecosystem

MNT-Halan, a company positioning itself as “Egypt’s leading fintech ecosystem,” has recently announced the successful closure of a $120 million investment round.

The funding was provided by a consortium of investors, including private equity firms such as Apis Growth Fund II, Development Partners International (DPI), and Lorax Capital Partners. Venture capital firms like Middle East Venture Partners, Endeavor Catalyst, and DisruptTech also participated.

These new investors join a roster of existing backers, including GB Capital, DPI, Algebra Ventures, Wamda, Egypt Ventures, Shaka VC, Nowaisi Capital, Unidelta, and Battery Road Digital Holdings, who have previously supported the company.

From Ride-Hailing to Super App

Founded in 2017 by Mounir Nakhla and Ahmed Mohsen, Halan initially launched as a ride-hailing and delivery service, utilizing two and three-wheeled vehicles for customers throughout Egypt.

The company progressively expanded its offerings to encompass digital wallets, bill payment solutions, e-commerce with buy now, pay later (BNPL) options, and both micro and consumer loans. This strategic evolution aimed to establish Halan as a comprehensive “super app.”

In June of this year, a share swap agreement was finalized between Netherlands-based MNT Investments BV and the Egyptian super app. This collaboration was designed to accelerate the development of its payments and lending capabilities, particularly within the BNPL sector across Egypt and the broader MENA region.

Strategic Acquisitions and Licensing

Prior to the merger, MNT acquired Raseedy, Egypt’s first independent and interoperable digital wallet. Raseedy holds a license from the Central Bank of Egypt to facilitate digital disbursement, collection, and transfer of funds via mobile applications.

Following the integration, MNT-Halan secured micro, consumer, and nano finance licenses, enabling it to provide financial services to both businesses and individual consumers throughout Egypt.

This licensing has allowed the company to construct a fintech ecosystem that seamlessly connects consumers, merchants, and micro-enterprises through a unified digital platform and payment infrastructure.

Diverse Financial Services Offered

As a lender to both businesses and individuals, MNT-Halan provides a range of services, including BNPL, nano loans, microfinance, SME lending, payroll lending, and light-vehicle financing.

Its digital payments ecosystem supports loan disbursement and collection, peer-to-peer transfers, payroll distribution, remittances, and bill payment processing.

Furthermore, MNT-Halan offers courier, delivery, and ride-hailing services within the mobility sector.

Market Position and Impact

MNT-Halan asserts its position as Egypt’s largest and fastest-growing lender to the unbanked population. Currently serving over 4 million customers in Egypt, including 1 million monthly active users, the company has disbursed more than $1.7 billion in loans to 1.8 million borrowers since its inception.

The company also reports processing $100 million in transactions monthly, demonstrating a 20-fold increase over the past five years.

Investment Utilization and Future Growth

The newly acquired investment, a combination of private equity and venture capital, will be allocated towards enhancing the company’s technology and product offerings, as well as expanding its reach to customers both within Egypt and in other markets.

“We are at the forefront of the digital revolution sweeping across Egypt, bringing together the unbanked population with our technology,” stated CEO Nakhla. “We are on track to bring financial inclusion to tens of millions of Egyptians, unleashing their earning potential and driving greater economic participation.”

Investor Perspectives

Apis Growth Fund II, a London-based private equity fund, specializes in quasi-equity investments within the financial sector and related infrastructure – including payment gateways, switches, and platforms – across Africa and Asia.

This investment in MNT-Halan represents Apis’s first significant investment in Egypt, following its participation in TymeBank’s $109 million funding round earlier this year.

Matteo Stefanel and Udayan Goyal, co-founders and managing partners of Apis Partners, commented, “We are thrilled to be investing in MNT-Halan, our first investment in Egypt. We believe they will be the leading player in digitizing the unbanked and providing financial services to millions of underserved customers.”

They further added, “We look forward to partnering with them to extend their impressive growth trajectory, confident that Mounir Nakhla’s experience, combined with MNT-Halan’s tech team and operational expertise, provides an ideal opportunity to invest in Egypt’s fintech sector.”

A Landmark Investment for African Fintech

Prior to this funding round, Halan had already raised $26.4 million as an independent entity. This latest investment brings the company’s total funding to $146.4 million, marking one of the largest funding rounds secured by an African company this year and reinforcing the continent’s growing prominence in the fintech landscape.