Egyptian fintech company MoneyHash has raised $5.2 million in a pre-Series A funding round, increasing its total capital raised to over $12 million since its inception in early 2021. This new investment comes after a $4.5 million seed round announced in February 2024. The funds will help drive the company’s expansion, focusing on acquiring larger enterprises and strengthening its presence in the Middle East and Africa.
The funding round was led by Flourish Ventures , a global fintech investor, with support from Vision Ventures (Saudi Arabia),Arab Bank’s Xelerate , and Emurgo Kepple Ventures. A notable contributor was Jason Gardner , the founder and former CEO of Marqeta, who made his inaugural investment in the region. Existing investors, including GitHub founder Tom Preston-Werner and COTU Ventures , also participated.
MoneyHash intends to use the investment to improve its payment orchestration platform, aiming to streamline intricate payment systems for enterprises. The startup connects various payment providers and gateways through a single unified API, offering features such as advanced transaction routing, fraud prevention, customizable checkout options, and in-depth analytics. With support for over 300 pre-integrated APIs, MoneyHash operates in more than 100 markets, enabling businesses to enhance performance, minimize operational inefficiencies, and boost revenue generation.
Reasons Behind the Investors’ Decision to Invest
Investors were likely drawn to MoneyHash due to its capacity to tackle a major challenge in emerging markets. The fragmented payment ecosystem in the Middle East and Africa presents substantial operational hurdles for merchants. Platforms like MoneyHash streamline this complexity, allowing businesses to efficiently manage both pay-in and pay-out processes across various providers and currencies.
- Market Opportunity: The Middle East and Africa present a rapidly growing market for digital payments, with online transactions currently comprising just a small portion of the overall transaction volume. This untapped potential suggests significant scalability, positioning MoneyHash as an appealing opportunity for investors eager to capitalize on the digital transformation unfolding in these regions.
- Proven Growth Metrics: In the past year, MoneyHash has experienced a fourfold increase in processing volume and a threefold rise in revenue, primarily driven by its focus on targeting enterprise clients. The addition of notable clients like BNPL unicorn Tamara, cloud kitchen leader Kitopi, and e-commerce platform Brands For Less highlights the company’s operational success and its capacity for scalability.
- Comprehensive Solution: Investors were likely attracted to MoneyHash’s all-encompassing approach to addressing payment challenges. Rather than concentrating on isolated metrics, the platform improves various performance aspects, such as fraud prevention, conversion rates, and revenue optimization, effectively addressing the diverse needs of enterprises.
- Strategic Leadership: The founders, Nader Abdelrazik and Mustafa Eid, offer extensive experience in fintech and enterprise software. Their profound knowledge of payment system complexities, coupled with their ability to secure long-term enterprise contracts, has strengthened investor confidence in the company.
- Prestigious Backers: The involvement of prominent investors such as Jason Gardner and Tom Preston-Werner has further affirmed MoneyHash’s potential, enhancing its appeal as a strong investment opportunity for institutional backers.
An Overview of MoneyHash
Launched in early 2021 by Nader Abdelrazik and Mustafa Eid, MoneyHash is an Egyptian startup with operations spanning across the Middle East and Africa. The company focuses on “payment orchestration,” a solution designed to streamline the integration and management of payment systems for merchants.
Originally serving small merchants, MoneyHash shifted its focus in 2024 to target larger enterprises with the introduction of its enterprise suite. This strategic pivot allowed the company to triple its enterprise customer base, which now makes up 35% of its total portfolio. The enterprise offerings include solutions for subscription management, recurring payments, virtual wallets, as well as fraud prevention and optimization of failure rates.
The platform features integrations with over 300 APIs, encompassing global processors like Stripe ,Adyen , and Checkout, along with regional players such as Fawry and ValU. This broad network enables MoneyHash to operate smoothly across more than 100 markets, providing unparalleled flexibility for its clients.
MoneyHash differentiates itself from global competitors such as Payrails and Spreedly by focusing on emerging markets. In regions where payment failure rates are three times higher than the global average and cart abandonment rates exceed developed markets by 20%, MoneyHash’s solutions effectively tackle the key challenges merchants face.
By turning payments from a liability into a strategic asset, MoneyHash has established itself as a leader in payment orchestration within emerging markets. The company’s impressive client base and its strategic pivot towards enterprise clients highlight its ambition to reshape the payment ecosystem across the Middle East and Africa.