Fintech
Through its investments in fintech innovation and financial inclusion, Nclude is driving Egypt’s digital transformation
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Founded in 2022, Include is an Egypt-based investment firm focused on fintech innovation and financial inclusion. Its specialized fund is focused on building a fintech stack to support and accelerate Egypt’s transformation into a digital and financially inclusive economy and position Egypt as the leading fintech innovation hub in the Middle East and Africa.
The fund was originally managed by UAE-based Global Ventures, and was spun off to become a standalone entity due to the size and scope of the mission requiring its own UAE-based team. EgyptThe fund was backed by Banque Misr, National Bank of Egypt and Banque du Caire, with Banque Misr leading the $105 million raised for its first fund, while the other two banks were subsequent strategic investors.
Basil Moftah, Founding General Partner of Nclude, told us that Nclude serves as a platform for various fintech companies to come together and build their own fintech ecosystem. He continued that the fund considers investing in startups that can “work with each other, support each other, and collaborate to build a strong multi-layered technology stack for the Egyptian fintech ecosystem at large.”
Nclude has funded fintech startups such as Paymob, Khazna, Lucky, and FlapKap, and has also made investments in proptech, healthtech, foodtech, and agritech. Nclude also offers startups and entrepreneurs tools such as access to capital, advisors, talent, and other support, including administrative and technological, to take advantage of. An example of operational synergies is OneOrder’s use of Paymob’s tools to offer supply chain financing to its customers.
Related: 10 Charts You Need to See to Understand the Egyptian Startup Ecosystem
Most of Nclude’s investments were made in 2022, while 2023 was a “slow year” due to Egyptrecent economic challenges, including burdensome debt and rising interest rates that make the cost of financing much more expensive. “We all know that technology is the ultimate leveler in society; however, the current scenario is extremely challenging after the war between Ukraine and Russia, as inflation has hit 35%, food prices have doubled, and everything has skyrocketed,” Moftah noted.
But despite these challenges, Moftah remains confident that Egypt still offers numerous advantages with its young, digitally savvy population, which provides a huge opportunity for consumer-focused startups and SME sector. Indeed, commenting on the current climate, Moftah said: “Well, there is one constant characteristic among Egyptian entrepreneurs, and that is their resilience.”
For more insights into the Egyptian entrepreneurial ecosystem, see the report Investing in Egypt’s Startup Ecosystem,Here.
This article was originally published on Lucidity Insights, Entrepreneur Middle East’s partner in developing special reports on the technology and entrepreneurship ecosystems of the Middle East and Africa.