Egyptian consumer credit startup Blnk has raised a US$32 million debt and equity funding round to further build out its AI-powered lending infrastructure and finance its fast-growing portfolio of customers.
Co-founded in 2021 by Amr Sultan and Tarek Elsheikh, Blnk is an AI-enabled digital consumer finance platform that empowers merchants with an onboarding and instant credit-underwriting technology to provide financing for their customers at the point of sale.
Consumers can access Blnk’s services at their favourite shops within Blnk’s merchant network, with just their national ID. In as little as three minutes, consumers are provided financing with payment terms of up to 36 months. Blnk has disbursed more than $20 million in loans to date.
The startup has just raised US$23.7 million in equity and debt funding, and US$8.3 million in securitised bond issuance. The combined pre-seed and seed funding rounds of US$12.5 million was led by Abu Dhabi’s Emirates International Investment Company (EIIC) and Egypt-based VC firm Sawari Ventures, with participation from several prominent local and international angel investors.
The US$11.2 million debt funding was secured from a number of leading local banks, while the US$8.3 million securitised bond issuance was underwritten by National Bank of Egypt and Banque du Caire, making Blnk the youngest Egyptian startup to securitise its loan book.
“Our mission is to make it easier for more Egyptians to purchase the products and services they desire by offering inclusive and convenient consumer credit at the point of sale. We are delighted to have the backing of a great cohort of investors at an early stage in our journey. With their support, we believe we can drive financial inclusion in Egypt, as well as the wider Middle East and North Africa region,” Sultan said.
Joseph Iskander, head of Investment at EIIC, said he was convinced the Egyptian market and its startup ecosystem presented a compelling opportunity for regional and international investors.
“We are committed to identifying and investing in value accretive businesses. We are pleased to partner with Blnk to drive financial inclusion and economic development in Egypt and we look forward to working with the team to achieve their goals,” he said.
