Grace Ashiru
Blnk, an Egyptian fintech startup that provides quick consumer loans, has secured $23.7 million in equity and debt capital and $8.3 million in securitised bond issuance to expand financial inclusion in the country’s disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
A number of the most prominent financial institutions in the area contributed to acquiring the 11.2 million dollars in debt financing. The Blnk is the youngest Egyptian startup that has been able to securitise its loan book thanks to the $8.3 million securitised bond issuance underwritten by the National Bank of Egypt and Banque du Caire.
Blnk, based in Egypt, is a digital consumer lending platform that uses AI. The platform gives merchants the tools they need to offer financing to their customers at the point of sales, such as onboarding and instant credit-underwriting technology.
People only need their national ID to use Blnk’s services. People can get loans with payment terms of up to 36 months in as little as 3 minutes.
Since its launch in October 2021, Bank says it has given out more than $20 million in loans and helped Merchants make more money through the transaction fees it charges.
The bank has stated that the newly secured funds will support the further development of its AI-powered lending infrastructure and the financing of the company’s fast-growing portfolio of customers, as well as help it drive financial inclusion in the Middle East and North Africa through its innovative technology solutions. This was announced after the bank successfully secured the funds.
In the combined pre-seed and seed funding rounds, which totalled $12.5 million, Abu Dhabi’s Emirates International Investment Company (EIIC) and Egypt’s leading venture capital firm Sawari Ventures were the driving forces behind the funding, with participation from several prominent local and international angel investors.
