Two years after securing its first seed funding, Wasla announced a larger equity investment to finance its expansion in Egypt and beyond. 

Egyptian e-commerce platform Wasla has closed a $9 million equity financing from non-bank financial services provider Contact Financial Holding to expand its payment solutions. The company, co-founded in 2018 by two Rocket Internet alumni and investment banker Mahmoud El Said (pictured, right), plans to include "buy now and pay later" financing options, as well as online payment capabilities, to its current offering. The startup also wants to enter Nigeria, the largest economy and most populous country in Africa.

“It’s a huge market at the end of the day, you have roughly 250 million people. They’re very technologically advanced, and their adoption of e-commerce is quite good. It’s quite the right market. There’s all the infrastructure that you kind of need to set up a proper tech business. In terms of maturity within the tech ecosystem, Nigeria is probably one of the best markets in Africa, competing directly with Egypt, South Africa, and a couple of others,” said Mahmoud El Said.

In addition to financial support, Contact Financial Holding will bring its experience in the technology and consumer credit sectors to Wasla, enabling it to expand financing opportunities for its customers. In December 2021, Sherif Makhlouf, managing director of consulting firm Boost, reported that e-commerce transactions in Egypt reached the equivalent of $5 billion in 2021.

As a reminder, in December 2019, Wasla raised $1 million in seed funding to strengthen its working team and develop new financial products.

Chamberline Moko