NowPay, a Cairo-based financial wellness platform for employees in emerging markets, announced, on Sunday, that it has raised $2.1m during a seed investment round.
The new funds will be deployed to deepen the platform’s capabilities, expand its team, and establish its footprint in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and beyond.
The round was led by Foundation Ventures and Endure Capital, along with investors from the US, UAE, China, and Egypt. The cluster of investors include: BECO Capital, 500 Startups, Plug and Play, 4dx Ventures, MSA Capital, EFG-EV Fintech, and Ebtikar. Prominent Angel investors such as Quirky Ventures, Gehan Fathi, and Rolaco also participated in the round.
Mostafa Ashour, Co-founder and CEO of NowPay, said, “During the peak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdowns, we are proud to have had well-known and eminent investors back us, signalling trust in our business concept and our team. Saving, spending, budgeting, and borrowing, are our four pillars of financial wellness.
He added, “Financial stress plays a major role as a top distraction for employees, but NowPay bridges that gap and provides several benefits for employers that choose to proactively address this area of employee wellness.”
Ashour also said that NowPay has in recent months helped empower both the employees and employers alike, due to its keenness to improve every financial aspect for employees and make financial inclusion a reality.
Founded in 2019, NowPay has a very enthusiastic and well-experienced team. Led by Ashour, the team includes Co-Founder Ahmed Sabry, who worked for Amazon Lending; Gehan Fathi, who previously worked as managing director at EFG Hermes; and Mahmoud ElHosseiny, who managed the Egypt sales for Stanley-Black & Decker.
“There is an asymmetry between expenses and income, which puts a lot of stress on employee’s morale, and hampers productivity,” said Ziyad Hamdy, Managing Partner at Foundation Ventures. “We are thrilled to join NowPay’s incredible team on this journey of empowering employees with the happiness and wellness that financial stability provides.”
Ashour said, “Within a very short period, we are delighted to have managed salaries in excess of $100m with a 60% month-over-month growth rate.”
He noted that NowPay has integrated its platform with leading Egyptian and multinational names, such as SODIC, Wadi Degla, Domty, and AXA to name a few. He said that this provides testament of the company’s ability to help the financial wellness of employees for its clients.
Hamdy added that NowPay has a very strong pipeline with many more big names waiting to come onboard the platform, and is looking forward to forging ahead as pioneers in this space.
