Tech in Africa
Kashat, an Egypt-based fintech has raised $1.75 million in a private bridge round led by Launch Africa alongside participation from regional investors among them Cairo Angels.
Kashat is an Egypt-based fintech startup backed by Pharos Holding (a Cairo-based financial group) and Planet N Group (a Pakistani-tech firm), working at the forefront of promoting financial inclusion by offering nano financial services such as small loans that target the unbanked and underbanked. Since its 2019 launch, Kashat set off on a mission to impact financial inclusion in Egypt and the Arabic speakers at large by targeting over 70 percent of the country’s population.
Kashat will use the newly acquired funds to support and develop its platform and expand operations. Africa’s fintech scene has witnessed a phenomenal rise in investment resulting in several mushrooming unicorns such as the recent $200m raise by the US-Senegal startup Wave in what was the largest Serie A round in the francophone region. Opay also announced a record Serie C raise of $400 million, not forgetting Interswitch’s $200 million, Chipper Cash raised a $100 million Serie C, and Flutterwave’s $170 million.
The same traction was also been witnessed across the MENA region with a 20 percent year-on-year growth in transactions. Notable fintech companies in the region are such as Fawry that is now a unicorn. Other notable players are PayMob and MoneyFellows operating in the larger Egyptian market.
Launch Africa Ventures is a pan-African focussed fund that supports companies tackling the continent’s most meaningful challenges led by Managing Partner Zachariah George who has invested in over 50 reading startups across Africa, among them Flutterwave, KudaBank, Yoco, and others.
