Egypt’s B2B payment platform SETTLE raised $2 M Pre-seed funding from Shorooq Partners

The B2B payment platform SETTLE, situated in Egypt, has raised $2 million in a pre-seed funding round spearheaded by Shorooq Partners. Acasia Ventures, Plus VC, and El Sewedy Capital Holding were among the other prominent investors who took part. With the help of this additional funding, SETTLE intends to quicken its entry into the international market and enhance platform development, all with the goal of empowering CFOs and business owners to make informed decisions based on up-to-date financial data.

While in its pre-launch phase, SETTLE has already completed over E£50 million (Egyptian pounds/EGP) in transactions in a variety of industries, including contracting, energy, and construction. Mostafa Mobarak and Kamil Sayour founded SETTLE in 2023 with the goal of modernizing financial operations for businesses by streamlining payment procedures and gathering insights and data on cash flow in real time.

Through the Automated Clearing House (ACH), SETTLE has integrated with the leading Egyptian banks to assist businesses in fully embracing the digital era for B2B payments. By integrating ERP programs like Oracle and SAP with companies’ current bank accounts, SETTLE’s platform automates receivables, payments, and treasury management. By lowering operational errors by up to 90% and enhancing efficiency by reducing the workload necessary for these crucial processes by up to 70%, the integration gives businesses more visibility and control over their financial operations.

Tamer Azer, partner at Shorooq Partners, stated, “The digitisation of financial operations for Egyptian businesses is long overdue, and SETTLE is stepping in with a service that is efficient, scalable, and easy to integrate.” Traditionally, B2B markets have been slower to pivot towards digitisation of essential processes than the B2C market. As of 2022, 80 percent of businesses were still performing B2B payments via paper checks at least some of the time. The same year, 88 percent of UAE residents had begun to use digital payments for B2C purchases. Since then, the ongoing disparity has placed many B2B vendors at a disadvantage in an increasingly digitised marketplace. Businesses in the Egyptian sector often wait up to two days to get an accurate picture of their cash flow from traditional banks.Kamil Sayour, co-founder of SETTLE, said, “We have watched the Egyptian market undergo a significant digital transformation in B2C services. I believe SETTLE has a major opportunity to bring the same transformation to B2B financial operations.”

Mostafa Mobarak, co-founder of SETTLE, added, “We are deeply familiar with the challenges and potential for the B2B financial services market in Egypt. SETTLE is prepared to enhance that market by automating financial workflows for businesses of all sizes. With the backing of strategic investors, we are now positioned to scale quickly and efficiently.”Haytham Sabry, Group CEO of El Sewedy Capital Holding, stated, “At El Sewedy Capital, we seek out technologies that address real-world challenges, and SETTLE is a perfect example of this. The platform not only streamlines and automates manual financial processes but also empowers businesses to focus their resources on growth and innovation. By reducing the time and effort spent on administrative tasks, SETTLE enables companies to allocate their energy toward strategic initiatives, ultimately driving their success. This aligns with our mission of investing in solutions that foster operational efficiency and long-term business growth.”