Blnk, an Egyptian company in consumer credit, has secured US $32 million in debt and equity capital to expand its AI-powered lending infrastructure and support its quickly expanding user base.
Blnk is an AI-enabled digital consumer finance platform that enables merchants with onboarding and quick credit-underwriting technology to offer financing to their clients at the point of sale. It was formed in 2021 by Amr Sultan and Tarek Elsheikh.
With merely their national ID, customers may use Blnk’s services at their favorite stores inside its merchant network. Customers can receive financing with up to 36-month payment periods in as little as three minutes. To far, Blnk has disbursed loans totaling more than $20 million.
The startup recently secured US $23.7 million in debt and equity funding, as well as US 8.3 million in securitized bond issuance. Leading the US $12.5 million pre-seed and seed funding rounds were Egypt’s Sawari Ventures and Abu Dhabi’s Emirates International Investment Company (EIIC), with support from a number of well-known domestic and international angel investors.
The US $11.2 million in debt financing was obtained from a number of top local banks, and the US $8.3 million in securitized bonds was issued by Blnk, the newest company in Egypt to securitize its loan book, with backing from the National Bank of Egypt and Banque du Caire.
“Our mission is to make it easier for more Egyptians to purchase the products and services they desire by offering inclusive and convenient consumer credit at the point of sale. We are delighted to have the backing of a great cohort of investors at an early stage in our journey. With their support, we believe we can drive financial inclusion in Egypt, as well as the wider Middle East and North Africa region,” Sultan said.
The head of investment at EIIC, Joseph Iskander, expressed his conviction that the Egyptian market and its startup ecosystem offered both domestic and foreign investors a compelling opportunity.
“We are committed to identifying and investing in value-accretive businesses. We are pleased to partner with Blnk to drive financial inclusion and economic development in Egypt and we look forward to working with the team to achieve their goals,” he said.
