Cairo – Sharikat Mubasher: Egyptian fintech startup Flend announced the successful closure of its $3 million seed round, a blended investment combining equity and debt.
According to an official press release from the company, the round was led by Egypt Ventures, with backing from Camel Ventures, Sukna Ventures, Plus VC, Banque Misr, and regional family offices including El Sewedy and Baalbaki. On the debt side, funding came from MSMEDA and local banking partners.
Flend, Egypt’s first fully digital and FRA-licensed SME financing platform, aims to address the country's $50 billion SME credit gap through embedded financing and fast, fully digital loan approvals. Since its launch, the company has partnered with over 20 digital platforms and served more than 15 sectors, cutting approval times by 95%.
The funds will be used to scale embedded lending solutions, grow the team, and deepen the startup’s proprietary tech infrastructure. Co-founder and CEO Ahmed Zaki emphasized the platform’s mission to integrate financing into the digital ecosystems where SMEs operate. Flend plans to inject EGP 1 billion into the SME sector within its first year, with a focus on short-term working capital.
Licensed in late 2024 by Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) as a Digital Non-Banking Financial Institution (Digital NBFI), Flend is legally authorized to issue fully digital loans using e-signatures and digitally binding contracts.
Backers praised the startup’s mission to modernize SME lending, with Abdelrahman Mansour, Egypt Ventures CEO, calling it a “critical lever” for economic growth and Hasan Haider, from Plus VC, highlighting its scalable, tech-driven approach to solving high-impact problems.
Flend currently finances SMEs directly in sectors including healthcare, agri-food, manufacturing, and e-commerce, aligning with Egypt’s national development goals.
