Catalyst Partners Middle East has acquired Egyptian digital lending startup Qardy in the nation’s first-ever special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger. The deal is worth EGP1.16 billion (US $23.15 million).
Qardy was founded in July 2022 and provides loans to MSMEs. According to founder Abdel Aziz Abdel Nabi, the company aims to be the “Amazon of lending.”
“Qardy aims to cut the waiting time to get a loan from nine months to around 18 days. Since the current lending process is manual, it takes so much time, and it mainly focuses on personal connections, making it very tough for MSMEs to go through the process,” he told media.
Since its inception, Qardy has grown to become a reliable partner for financial institutions and MSMEs, and it currently boasts over 6,000 corporate clients on its platform. More than EGP550 million (US$12 million) in loan transactions have been completed by it.
Catalyst Partners Middle East, an affiliate of Cairo-based impact investment advisory firm Catalyst Partners, has acquired the startup, which was reported to have raised a seven-figure US dollar pre-seed round of funding in August of last year to support its expansion.
Qardy becomes the first Egyptian fintech company to go public through a SPAC structure as a result of the deal. The acquisition is being carried out by means of a full or partial share swap, whereby all of Qardy’s equity is exchanged for new Catalyst shares.
“This deal confirms our shared commitment to innovation in non-banking financial services and empowering SMEs. With this merger, we will continue to operate with our existing team and platform, while gaining access to capital, infrastructure, and long-term strategic backing that will allow us to scale more rapidly,” Qardy said in a statement.
