Egyptian Startup Makes Access to Financial Services Easier

Having secured an extraordinary 85 per cent market share of mobile wallet transactions at home in Egypt, fintech startup Paymob has eyes on even greater prizes. Founded in 2015 by Islam Shawky, Alain El Hajj and Mostafa Menessy, Paymob is an infrastructure technology enabler providing payment solutions to empower digital financial service providers through mobile wallet technology. The startup’s mobile wallet infrastructure processes more than 85 per cent of the market share of the transaction’s throughput in the Egyptian market, and serves merchants a host of other markets, including Kenya, Pakistan and Palestine. In August, Paymob raised a US$3.5 million funding round to grow its merchant network and accelerate regional expansion, with the startup targeting further expansion in Africa and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Not bad for a startup that was founded while its founders were still at university. “Our initial work was on an e-commerce platform until we realised the limitations imposed by cash-based economies. We identified the serious challenges facing the digital economy and decided to work on fixing them,” Shawky told Disrupt Africa. Paymob is a digital financial enabler, providing under-served merchants and consumers with improved access to finance.

SOURCE: DISRUPT AFRICA