Flend, an SME lending startup based in Egypt, acquires $3 million in funding during its seed round.
Egyptian small and medium enterprise (SME) lending startup Flend has announced that it has raised $3 million in a seed funding round. The funding, a combination of equity and debt, was led by Egypt Ventures and saw participation from several prominent investors, including Camel Ventures, Sukna Ventures, Plus VC, Banque Misr, MSMEDA, and notable family offices El Sewedy and Baalbaki.
Licensed by Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority as a Digital Non-Banking Financial Institution (Digital NBFI), Flend provides fully digital lending services for SMEs, covering onboarding, credit scoring, disbursement, and collections through digitally binding contracts. The startup aims to address the significant $50 billion SME financing gap in the country by integrating directly with over 20 platforms within SME supply chains across sectors such as agri-food, healthcare, e-commerce, manufacturing, retail, and export.
Flend's embedded finance model allows it to offer loans seamlessly within the platforms where SMEs already conduct their business, utilizing transaction-level data in real time to improve credit scoring accuracy and reduce lending risk. With the new capital, Flend plans to inject approximately EGP 1 billion (around $21 million) in working capital loans over the next 12 months, scale its team, strengthen partnerships, and enhance its technology infrastructure to meet increasing demand and scale its reach effectively across Egypt’s underserved SME sector.
Flend was founded by Ahmed Zaki, Nehal Helmy, and Saif Edeen El Bendari. The startup's co-founder and CEO, Ahmed Zaki, stated that the funds will be used to finance SMEs within the platforms driving Egypt's economy. With rising demand for digital lending solutions, Flend is ready to scale its reach and make a significant impact on Egypt's SME sector.
[1] Flend. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.flend.co/ [2] Flend secures $3m seed funding to scale digital lending for SMEs in Egypt. (2022, January 18). Retrieved from https://www.ventureburn.com/2022/01/flend-secures-3m-seed-funding-to-scale-digital-lending-for-smes-in-egypt/ [3] Flend raises $3 million in seed funding to expand digital SME lending in Egypt. (2022, January 18). Retrieved from https://www.disrupt-africa.com/2022/01/18/flend-raises-3-million-in-seed-funding-to-expand-digital-sme-lending-in-egypt/
- With the new funding, Flend, an Egyptian digital lending startup for SMEs, plans to extend approximately EGP 1 billion (around $21 million) in working capital loans over the next year, utilizing the funds to finance SMEs within platforms driving Egypt's economy, and expand its technology infrastructure to meet increasing demand.
- Flend's embedded finance model, which allows it to offer loans seamlessly within the platforms where SMEs already conduct their business, aims to address the significant $50 billion SME financing gap in the country by integrating directly with over 20 platforms within SME supply chains across sectors such as e-commerce, agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and export.
