Three Egyptian banks will be launching an Egypt fintech fund of EGP 1 billion (US$63.6 million) to support fintech companies next month, according to a recent statement.

The three banks are National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, and Banque du Caire, and participation from other banks and financial institutions was welcome, the statement said.

The move is aimed at leveraging fintech solutions to transform Egypt into a “regional centre for the Arab and African financial technology industry,” the statement said.

The Egypt fintech fund is especially looking at the digital banking and financial services sector, and fintech apps that can extend banking and financial services to all segments of society in a cost-effective and convenient way.

Investments from the fund will be made in both local and international emerging fintech companies. It also focuses on nurturing young talent in this space.

Further, the Egypt fintech fund aims to create an environment that can attract and nurture talent, localising them in the Egyptian market.

Fintech a priority sector in Egypt

“The participation of banks in this fund stems from their belief in the importance of keeping pace with global developments in the field of financial technology, which is the future of the banking and financial industry in Egypt and the world,”

the statement added.

The fintech sector plays a role in Egypt’s digital transformation, a focus of Egypt’s Vision 2030, it also said.

Fintech is rapidly gaining relevance in Egypt, where financial inclusion is a major roadblock to economic growth. The country remains one of the most unbanked in the world, with 67% of the population being financially excluded.

To this end, the country has been making progress in providing support to fintech. It recently announced a number of regulatory shifts, including licensing non-banking financial companies and fintech startups, and announcing regulations for cashless payments, digital banks, and crypto.

A similar fund was also previously announced by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). In 2019, the CBE announced the launch of its EGP 1 billion Financial Technology Unit fund.

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