Mergers and acquisitions reached a record high in Africa in 2021. The performance nevertheless hides weaknesses, including low investment in small businesses.  

Egypt-based fintech investment banking marketplace Exits.me announced, Tuesday (September 20), it raised US$1 million in a pre-seed round. The funds were raised from a “UK-Based Exits.me, a group of notable Egyptian angel investors, Baseeta Investments Holding & Mawelni Holding for Financial Investments, and the founders.”

For Omar Wagdy, one of the angel investors, this round is a much-needed one and aims to bring investment opportunities to all classes of businesses in the MENA region. "We want startups & SMEs who are off the radar of conventional investment banks to have a user-friendly and automated means of engaging in M&A and investment opportunities," he said.

Exits.me was founded in 2022. It facilitates merger acquisitions and investment in companies by offering a seamless, fully integrated online platform and a full-fledged financial advisory service. To date, the fintech has completed more than 25 transactions on its platform, with another 30 ongoings, totaling US$150-200 million. 

According to a recent report by financial audit and advisory firm E&Y, the MENA region has recorded 359 merger-acquisition deals worth US$42.6 billion in the first half of 2022. This represents a 12% year-on-year increase.  The United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Oman are driving those deals.

Thanks to the funds raised, it intends to facilitate even more deals. It indicates that it “is also in the current procurement of its crowdfunding license from the Financial Regulatory Authority to manage and arrange crowdfunding campaigns; which will open the door to a new investment product for the MENA market, allowing anyone in any capacity to invest.”

Samira Njoya