Next one, an Egyptian startup that plans to launch its banking app in the coming months, has secured a $5 million investment from eFinance Group, a state-owned provider of digital payment solutions. This news follows the $2 Million Pre-Seed Round Nexta announced in March, led by Egyptian early-stage VC Disruptech.
Last year, Nexta obtained a provisional license from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and will strive to meet further requirements and fulfill certain obligations before obtaining final approval from the CBE for the agent banking license it needs to operate. services in the country. The Nexta app will have a partner bank to handle settlements and act as an intermediary between itself and the CBE, but it will power its cards and technology.
Founded by Ahmed Hisham In 2021, Nexta aims to disrupt the Egyptian fintech scene with its app and card for ‘next-generation banking’. According to the company, the Nexta card will merge users’ existing payment cards, enabling effortless money transfer and expense tracking, among other things.
“We’re trying to build next-generation banking and deliver a seamless user experience to consumers. We want to make easy and instant onboarding, card aggregation, linking all your cards and different methods for cash-in functions,” the co-founder and CEO told businesskinda.com in an interview, adding that the company plans to increase revenues. generate from interchange fees.” That’s the first thing we start with the soft launch and budgeting and expense tracking. And then we will add more features every month or every quarter to solve the locating of Egyptians.”
Egypt is one of the markets with the highest consumer spending in Africa. It is also one of the most money-dependent markets in the region, meaning there is a huge opportunity for fintechs to bring consumer spending online by launching card services. Egyptians looking for new alternatives that don’t include telco-powered mobile wallets and digital channels from old banks can turn to Nexta and Telda, the Sequoia-backed fintech that announced a $20 million starting round last week.
Unlike Telda, which allowed signups from its yet-to-be-launched apps (it didn’t bode well with its 30,000+ users after waiting nearly a year to use the app), Nexta has limited its waiting list to sign-ups from its website. , engaging them through content marketing in preparation for launch. Hisham declined to reveal how many subscribers are on the company’s waiting list.
Like Sabbah, in an interview with businesskinda.com last week, Hisham agrees that both consumer-facing fintech apps are ultimately competing for cash. “I believe the competition is very healthy and thanks to Telda for the awareness they have created among consumers and taking the first step. The Egyptian market needs not only Telda and Nexta, but four or five other players like us” , the CEO added.
In a statement, Ibrahim Sarhan, chairman and CEO of eFinance, said the investment in Nexta is in line with Egypt’s digital transformation plan and vision for 2030, including the Group’s plan to maximize its assets and investments by investing in the fintech space. “Nexta is one of the promising companies funded by the Group within several targeted investments,” said Sahar. “It is worth noting that the Group participated in the creation of Nclude – an investment fund – to invest in emerging fintech companies, improving the current and future direction of fintech in Egypt.”
Hisham, who describes this investment as a strategic partnership rather than a financing round, said Nexta is happy to have e-finance on board as demand for financial services increases in Egypt. “We believe there is a huge opportunity for us to provide a differentiated and excellent experience to different users in such a promising market,” he said.
The proceeds from the investment will help Nexta prepare for launch, hire talent and invest in its technology.
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