Welcome to the Fintech Founder monthly newsletter! It’s time to go back on what happened last month in the MENA region. Find below the summary of our discussions and 5 hand-picked funding-related news. Let’s get going!
Why Africa and Asia is the Future of Crypto
The Untold Story of Ray Youssef, CEO of Paxful
On September 30th, 2021 we had our first episode of the Fintech Founders Series with an accelerating Fintech entrepreneur Ray Yousself. The future of Crypto in Africa and Asia is a ‘rocket waiting to take off’ with 600 million youth and even more in Asia to circulate money among people.
As Ray said,
“Cryptocurrencies are the universal translator and transportation of money. Previously just like Hawala network in Roman Empire, and now that ledger in today’s world is called as Blockchain.”
Ray Youssef, CEO of Paxful
The insightful discussion highlighted key themes within crypto world in Africa and Asia:
- How Crypto can bank the unbanked people
- Hear a founder’s story getting from zero to one and building one of the largest Fintech platforms
- How the young generation of Africa and Asia has a huge opportunity when it comes to crypto
You can watch the sessions below on Youtube, or listen it on Apple and Spotify Podcasts.
Pioneering the Wealth-Tech Revolution in Africa
The Untold Story of Odunayo Eweniyi, Co-Founder of Piggyvest
On October 14th, 2021 we wrapped up our second episode of the Fintech Founders Series with an outstanding Fintech Entrepreneur Odunayo Eweniyi. We learned about the genesis of Piggyvest “it all started with a tweet”, and the story from ideation to the successful start Piggyvest is today.
As Odunayo said,
“For establishing a startup, there is always a problem to be solved in the market and that is what you should focus on.”
Odunayo Eweniyi, Co-Founder of Piggyvest
The insightful discussion on entrepreneurship and African tech revolution, four main points were highlighted:
- Learning journey of how to be an entrepreneur in an experimental way
- The promising acceleration of African market
- How Piggyvest the African Fintech she founded lets everyone’s access the money anytime without any limitation
- How the young generation of Africa has a vast potential to solve problems through innovation
You can watch the sessions below on Youtube, or listen it on Apple and Spotify Podcasts.
What happened in Fintech last month in the MENA region
This month, the MENA region saw a much wider array of fintech hubs attracting large investments, from digital asset exchange to insurtech, investment activity in the region increase in various categories of funding rounds. Here are some news from UAE, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, and Morocco!
Dubai-based crypto exchange BitOasis raises $30 million Series B to accelerate growth
UAE-based BitOasis, one of the first digital asset exchange platform in Middle East region, has raised $30 million in Series B funding round.
Women-Led FinTech Oraan raises $3M
Oraan, Pakistan’s first gender-inclusive women-led fintech has raised $3 million in a seed round.
Turkey-based FinTech Colendi raises $30M Series A
Colendi, a Turkish micro-lending Fintech venture has raised $30 million in Series A funding round.
Egypt-based InsurTech Amenli raises $2.3M Seed round
The Egypt-based InsurTech and on-demand insurance platform Amenli has raised $2.3M in a seed round.
Chari valued at $70M following $5M Seed Round
Morocco-based B2B eCommerce and Fintech Chari has raised $5M in a seed round.
Pakistan-based FinTech TAG raises $12M+
The Pakistan-based FinTech and digital payment solutions provider Tag has raised more than $12M in a seed funding round.
Saudi-Based FinTech CashIn closes $1.6M Seed Round
The Saudi-based FinTech and digital POS provider CashIn has raised $1.6 million in a seed funding round.
Egypt-based FinTech Kashat raises $1.75M
Egypt-based FinTech and microloan solutions provider Kashat has raised $1.75 million in a bridge funding round.
