Fintech Startup Money Fellows Raises $31 M in Funding, Plans to Diversify Portfolio

Egyptian-based fintech startup Money fellows have raised $31 million in its latest series B funding round.

The funding round was led by Commerce ventures, Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), and Arzan Venture, as well as funds from National Investment Company (NIC), Invenfin, Sawari Ventures, Existing investors Partech, 4DX, and P1Ventures who also invested in the round.

According to the startup, the fund will enable it to diversify its portfolio, expand its product offerings across the B2C & B2B segments and also expand other markets in Africa and Asia.

Speaking on the success of the fundraising, the CEO and founder of Money Fellows Ahmed Wadi said, “We are proud to share with our stakeholders and users the progress and growth which led Money Fellows to become one of the market-leading fintechs in Egypt, facilitating financial inclusion and digital transformation in the country.

“We wouldn’t have reached such an important funding milestone without the firm backing of our existing investors who understand and support the company’s vision as well as the perseverance and belief of our new partners in the company and the team’s ability to execute.

“The support we received from leading local and global venture capital firms in times of instability and scarcity of growth capital rounds is a testament to their faith and confidence in our business model, our team, and the overall opportunity that lies in the Egyptian market”.

Money fellows is a collaborative Group lending and savings platform. The app is aimed to connect people who are on the lookout for money circles but do not know each other.

Basically, the fintech startup digitized the traditional informal offline ROSCA (Rotating Savings and Credit Association) model that enables users to meet their financial needs.

The ROSCA model is currently in over 90 countries worldwide, with a variety of names, such as ‘Chit funds’ in India, ‘Gam’eya’ in the Arab world, ‘Committees’ in Pakistan, and ‘Tandas’ in Mexico.

MoneyFellows has so far racked up more than 500,000 users, with 200,000 active users. The startup revenue has been growing between 35 and 45 percent on a month-on-month basis.