Wallets Ready

Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan plots foreign expansion, merchant payments

By David Whitehouse

Premium badge Reserved for subscribers

Posted on September 29, 2021 14:56

Mounir Nakhla Photo © MNT-Halan CEO and co-founder Mounir Nakhla. Photo supplied.
MNT-Halan CEO and co-founder Mounir Nakhla. Photo supplied.

Egypt’s MNT-Halan is considering expanding to three new countries after raising $120m from investors in September, CEO Mounir Nakhla tells The Africa Report.

The fintech company hopes to enter at least one new country in the first quarter of 2022 under a plan which will need a presence on the ground, Nakhla says in Cairo. He declined to name the countries being considered.

MNT-Halan claims to be Egypt’s largest lender to the unbanked. It has about 1 million monthly active users and has disbursed $1.7bn in loans to date. In September, the company completed the raising of about $120m from investors including Apis Growth Fund II, Development Partners International, and Lorax Capital Partners.

Regulators have granted the company licenses for micro and consumer finance, and it holds the first independent electronic wallet license for the Raseedy wallet from the country’s central bank. The business is getting a “tailwind from the regulatory environment” with Egyptian regulators aiming to eliminate physical cash, Nakhla says.

“To win in payments,

There's more to this story

Get unlimited access to our exclusive journalism and features today. Our award-winning team of correspondents and editors report from over 54 African countries, from Cape Town to Cairo, from Abidjan to Abuja to Addis Ababa. Africa. Unlocked.

Subscribe Now

cancel anytime