Grace Ashiru
According to the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA), small businesses in Egypt are significant to the economy. They comprise 47% of the country’s GDP and more than 75% of all jobs.
But many small shops in Egypt still only accept cash, which can be slow and dangerous.
An Egyptian fintech company called Axis wants to solve these problems by giving small businesses a safe and easy way to make payments. So, it made AxisPay, a digital payments platform for small companies in North Africa. AxisPay has many features, such as mobile payments, online banking, and payroll processing, and it is aimed at small businesses.
The platform is beta testing with over 100 small businesses and 5,000 workers, and a public launch is expected in the coming months.
With a license from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and an $8.25 million seed funding round led by Tiger Global, Sawari Ventures, and Raba, Axis hopes to reach 5,000 small businesses and 80,000–100,000 employees by the end of the year.
