Egyptian fintech startup Telda secured $20 million in seed funding from investors including Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc., a bright spot for the Middle East’s tech sector against the current global slowdown.
(Bloomberg) — Egyptian fintech startup Telda secured $20 million in seed funding from investors including Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc., a bright spot for the Middle East’s tech sector against the current global slowdown.
Existing backers Global Founders Capital led the financing round, Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and new investor Block Inc.
— previously known as Square Inc. — also participated. Telda will use the funds to expand into new markets and build its product offering, it said in a statement.
Telda was co-founded last year in Cairo by Ahmed Sabbah, who also co-founded Swvl Holdings Corp., an Egyptian transportation firm that became the first African company to list on the Nasdaq through a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC.
It recently launched a debit card and app in Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country.
“In Egypt dealing with money is still a complicated matter; making it easy and straightforward will have a large impact not just on the economy but also the society as a whole,” said Youssef Sholqamy, Telda’s co-founder, and a former engineer in Uber Technologies Inc.’s infrastructure team.
After considerable expansion recent years, the growth of Middle Eastern and North Africa technology firms has slowed over the last three quarters due to global economic uncertainty, according to research firm Magnitt.
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