To expand across MENA region, $20 M raised by Egyptian fintech startup Thndr
Thndr, an Egyptian digital investing platform, has secured a $20 million Series A fundraising round to help it expand across the Middle East and North Africa.
Thndr was founded in 2020 by Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr after participating in the Y Combinator bootcamp in Silicon Valley. Thndr first gave consumers a commission-free, mobile-first equities trading platform that made it simple to trade in stocks, bonds, and ETFs.
The business, which in 2020 became the first company in Egypt since 2008 to get a brokerage licence, subsequently added a mutual fund trading product to its offering. Thndr’s assets under custody have increased at a high rate – 29x by 2021 – and monthly traded values have increased at a comparable rate. During 2021, the startup accounted for 36% of all new registrations on local Egyptian exchanges.
Tiger Global, BECO Capital, and Prosus Ventures led the $20 million Series A round, which also included Base Capital, firstminute, and prior investors Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Raba Partnerships, and JIMCO. Thndr will utilise it to create new products and grow its footprint in the Middle East and North Africa.
“We are building an investment supermarket for MENA consumers to access relevant investment products. With a focus on financial literacy, we equip investors with the knowledge to make self-directed investment decisions. We pride ourselves in being agents of change in the investment sector, and staying true to our mission of democratising investing for everybody in the region,” Hammouda said.
“The support from leading global investors is a significant endorsement to our strategy and the very clear market opportunity in the region. We’re thrilled to announce this new funding to continue pioneering wealthtech in the region.”
Tiger Global partner Alex Cook expressed his delight in assisting the Thndr team in making investment more accessible in Egypt and the MENA region.
“The market is lacking a low cost, easy-to-use platform for investing and saving, and we believe Thndr will deliver best-in-class customer experience as the platform scales,” he said.
