Investor Updates: October 12 2022 - Mastercard invests in Egyptian venture capital fund Nclude

Mastercard invests in Egyptian venture capital fund Nclude

Highlights

• Egypt-based VC fund Nclude has raised an undisclosed investment from Mastercard, to accelerate Egypt’s fintech ecosystem.
• Founded in March 2022 in partnership with Egypt’s national banks, Nclude is a fintech-focused VC investment platform. It initially saw an investment of $100 million from the three national banks, Egyptian Banks Company (EBC), and eFinance.
• The Mastercard investments will support early-and-growth-stage fintech tackling financial inclusion in Egypt and supports the Central Bank of Egypt’s vision to turn Egypt into an innovation hub for fintech across the Middle East and Africa region.

Source: Wamda

Our Takeaway

Egypt’s substantial unbanked, young population and cash-dominated economy offer solid opportunities for fintech and fintech-enabled companies that continue to witness exponential growth in the market. Only 33% of people have a bank account, per World Bank data. Expanding access to financial services is thus crucial. For Mastercard, which has been a key player in the growth of digital payments adoption in Africa, investing in Nclude reflects an ambition to further tap into the continent’s digital opportunity. 

---

PoS transactions in Nigeria hit monthly all-time high in September

Highlights

• The value of transactions over Point of Sales (PoS) terminals in Nigeria jumped to N735.6 billion in September 2022, per data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).
• This came as the highest monthly record of transactions on the platform, a 32% increase compared to the same period last year, as more Nigerians go cashless.
• In the first nine months of this year, Nigerians spent a total of N6.05 trillion over PoS. This is almost the same amount recorded in the full year 2021, which stood at N6.4 trillion.

Source: Nairametrics

Our Takeaway

In some African countries, the agency distribution system has proven to be very effective when it comes to broadening access to services; the boom in PoS transactions in Nigeria reflects this. The growth of PoS transactions in the country is being driven by many factors, including rapid adoption by merchants for receiving payments and Nigerians who are unable to access bank branches or ATMs. Overall, the trend illuminates the growing digital payments landscape in Africa, which, per a GSMA report, now accounts for 70% of the world’s $1 trillion mobile money value.

---

Egypt’s Vezeeta raises undisclosed growth funding

Highlights

• Egypt-based healthtech Vezeeta has raised an undisclosed amount of growth funding, from Abu Dhabi-based Gulf Capital and Sweden-based VNV Global.
• Founded in 2012 by Ahmed Badr and Amir Barsoum, Vezeeta is a healthcare app that enables patients to book doctor appointments, order medications online, and order at-home lab sample collection. 
• The new funding comes after Vezeeta reached its profitability and is set to accelerate its organic growth as well as fund acquisitions and expansions across the Middle East and Africa.

Source: Wamda

Our Takeaway
Vezeeta, which claims to have more than 10 million patients across 80 cities, is one of Egypt’s most funded startups. In February 2020, it closed a $40 million Series D round. It’s a positive development to see investors back health-tech players in such a fashion, given the well-known challenges that plague Africa’s healthcare industry and prevent universal access for its people. Increasing investor backing for and confidence in health-focused startups shows one of Africa’s most crucial socio-economic problems can be tackled profitably.