Money Fellows raises $31m in Series B

By Edlyn Cardoza

Money Fellows, one of the leading Egyptian FinTech platforms, announces the first close of its Series B round with a $31 million investment led by CommerzVentures, Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), and Arzan Venture Capital. Invenfin, National Investment Company (NIC), and existing investors such as Partech, Sawari Ventures, 4DX and P1Ventures also participated in the round.

“We are proud to share with our stakeholders and our users the progress and growth which led Money Fellows to become one of the market-leading FinTech’s in Egypt, facilitating financial inclusion and digital transformation in the country. We wouldn’t have reached such an important funding milestone without the firm backing of our existing investors who understand and support the company’s vision as well as the perseverance and belief of our new partners in the company and the team’s ability to execute,” said Ahmed Wadi, Founder and CEO of Money Fellows. “The support we received from leading local and global venture capital firms in times of instability and scarcity of growth capital rounds is a testament to their faith and confidence in our business model, our team and the overall opportunity that lies in the Egyptian market.”

Money Fellows is a mobile-based platform that digitises money circles, or Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) are widely known as ‘Gameya’ in Egypt and other Arab countries. Money Fellows is the first to offer next-generation digital ROSCAs globally.

“Money Fellows is already a standout national success story, and we are incredibly excited to partner with the company as they begin the next phase in their growth journey. Ahmed and his stellar team have delivered a transformative solution that will continue to enable millions to achieve their financial goals,” said Hangwi Muambadzi, Venture Partner at CommerzVentures. “Rotating Savings and Credit Associations have been deeply embedded in emerging markets across the world for centuries. It is brilliant to see this new digital RoSCA-driven model emerge from Africa, creating a trusted model of delivering financial solutions and setting a new standard on using localised solutions to solve for global opportunities.”

Users can effectively manage and plan their financial obligations and achieve their financial goals through the platform. Money Fellows offers a secure and convenient alternative to traditional finance that is more social, culturally favourable, affordable, and incentivising.

The round will allow Money Fellows to accelerate its exponential growth by diversifying its portfolio of services and expanding its product offerings across the B2C & B2B segments, as well as its geographical expansion across Africa and Asia. The market is largely untapped and ripe for disruption, with 2.4 billion people globally using money circles through traditional channels.

Jad El Boustani, Managing Director and Germine Bouchnack, Associate and Egypt’s Operations Manager at MEVP, said, “What an inspiring journey Money Fellows have gone through! We have been following the company since its launch and we are impressed by what Ahmed and his team have achieved. Their ability to crack such a difficult model, enables them to provide a highly recurring and sticky financing option to a largely untapped and underbanked population. Money Fellows is on track to become the go-to platform for financial services in emerging markets. We are very excited to become part of the company’s journey!”