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TechInAfrica — Wasla, a startup based in Cairo that has developed an incentivized mobile browser that rewards users with free mobile internet have recently secured $1 million in seed funding.
Egypt’s Waya Media reported yesterday in a post on Facebook that the investors involved in the round include Egypt Ventures, Glint Ventures, and Ebtikar for Financial Investments.
Wasla’s browser operates by rewarding users with points based on their engagements. Users then are able to redeem their points for free airtime directly from the browser’s wallet.
The company also said that Wasla, which also enables brands to serve its users with targeted ads, also provides services that include affiliate marketing and field research.
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The startup, which claims to have more than 100,000 users to date, plans to build a “super app” that will offer social networking, shopping, entertainment, and payments all in one platform with the newly accepted investment.
Founded last year, Wasla was started by Mahmoud El Said and former Rocket Internet entrepreneurs Serag Meneassy and Taymour Sabry.
El Said spoke on an occasion that the funding round, which was closes last week, will be used to fuel the startup’s go-to-market strategy, grow its team, and introduce new product verticals with a focus on financial inclusion.
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It intends to introduce these new verticals in 2020, the startup said in an earlier statement.
Prior to this latest deal, the startup had raised $200,000 from its early investors, El Said said. He also stated that Wasla is currently looking to expand in Africa and the Middle East region.
“The timeline is still not defined but within the next one to two years we should be opening up new markets,” El Said concluded.
Source: ventureburn.com
