جمعت شركة الخدمات اللوجستية للشاحنات Trukkin لتجميع الشاحنات، والتي تتخذ من الإمارات العربية المتحدة مقراً لها، 7 مليون دولار في جولة التمويل Series A، بقيادة إمكان كابيتال ومقرها المملكة العربية السعودية وبمشاركة Impact46 Seed Fund مجموعة "طايه" ومستثمرين استراتيجيين آخرين.
خطط Trukkin بعد جولة التمويل
تخطط Trukkin بعد جولتها التمويلية الأخيرة تزويد خدمات التكنولوجيا المالية للمدفوعات والتأمين والخدمات المالية الأخرى.
وعن خطط Trukkin المستقبلية علق الرئيس التنفيذي للشركة " جاناردان دالميا": "نرى القوة وإمكانات النمو في قطاع الخدمات اللوجستية في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وباكستان (MENAP)، حيث يبلغ حجم السوق أكثر من 50 مليار دولار أمريكي. نعمل من خلال المنصة على أن نكون عامل ممكّن يجمع هذا السوق المجزأ معًا في منصة تقنية متكاملة"..
تأتي جولة التمويل لمنصة Trukkin بعد تمكنها من مد خدماتها إلى باكستان في عام 2020، وتنمية أعمالها في الإمارات العربية المتحدة التي تتخذها مقراً لها، والمملكة العربية السعودية، كما تقدم خدماتها في 12 دولة أخرى في منطقة الشرق الأوسط.
بدايات Trukkin
تأسست منصة Trukkin في عام 2017 كمنصة سحابية جديدة لتوصيل العملاء بالنقالين البحريين وسائقي الشاحنات في منطقة الشرق الأوسط، لإتاحة الفرص التجارية الجديدة وتقديم الحلول اللوجستية بسلاسة. وتهدف الشركة من عملها في مجال عمليات النقل إلى تعزيز الابتكار وتبسيط الخدمات اللوجستية وعمليات النقل للمسافات الطويلة. كما تعمل بناء حلول في مجال التقنية المالية لإدارة المدفوعات والتأمين والخدمات المالية.
الشركة التي يقع مقرها في مدينة دبي تأسست على يد مجموعة من رواد الاعمال من السعودية، والإمارات، وشارك في تأسيسها أحمد النافع، وجانار دان دالميا. بدأت اعمالها من مقرها في الإمارات والسعودية، وسرعان ما توسعت أعمالها بين دول الشرق الأوسط لتشمل 12 دولة إضافة لباكستان التي بدأت أعمالها فيها عام 2020 وهو العام الذي تضاعفت فيه أعمالها 3 مرات، وفقاً للبيان الصحفي الصادر عن الشركة.
يصف الرئيس التنفيذي لشركة Trukkin،جانار دان دالميا، اعمالها في البيان الصحفي الذي أعلن فيه عن تأسيسها عام 2017 "تم إطلاق Trukkin لتكون منصة لتقديم الخدمات اللوجستية على مستوى المنطقة من خلال توفير أحدث الآليات التي تربط بين الموردين والعملاء إضافة لتلبية المنصة احتياجات القطاع الماسة لمزيدٍ من الشفافية، من خلال اختيار مقدمي الخدمات، وإتاحة القدرة على طلب خدمات النقل من الأساطيل المتاحة".
إنشاء منصة إقليمية على مستوى عالمي
وقال "دالميا" معلقاً على الجولة التمويلية الأخيرة للشركة "فخور جداً بالفريق والنمو الذي حققناه على مدار العام الماضي مع توسعنا في باكستان وزيادة الإيرادات على الرغم من الظروف الصعبة في مواجهة تحديات Covid-19. متحمسون لاختتام الجولة مع مستثمرين استراتيجيين مثل إمكان كابيتال وImpact46، ولتحقيق رؤيتنا في إنشاء منصة إقليمية على مستوى عالمي لتمكين الخدمات اللوجستية على أسس تقنيات مطورة".
وصرح غسان الأشبان من إمكان كابيتال: "لقد أظهرت Trukkin استخدامًا فعالاً لرأس المال ومعجبون بما تمكنوا من تحقيقه خلال فترة زمنية قصير. لقد أظهر الفريق الذي يتمتع بأعوام من الخبرة الصناعية في عمليات النقل تواصلهم ودفعهم لنمو المنصة في أسواق جديدة حتى أثناء Covid-19. نتطلع إلى دعم Trukkin في خدمة مئات العملاء من الشركات وملاك الشاحنات الذين يبحثون بقوة عن التوسع والنمو".
"أظهر فريق إدارة Trukkin قدرته الفريدة على بناء الأعمال عبر مناطق جغرافية متعددة في 3 سنوات مع الاحتفاظ بثقافة الشركة القوية. نحن واثقون من قدرتهم على إدارة وتوسيع نطاق الأعمال "أضاف فريق Impact46.
VMware opens office in Cairo to support digital transformation across Egypt
17 May 2021 Written by Admin AdminVMware has opened its first office in Egypt as it seeks to help the country drive digital transformation across a range of sectors, including government, education, healthcare and industry, in line with the Egyptian government’s ambitious Vision 2030 agenda. VMware views the country as a key market in the Middle East and North Africa region.
The new VMware office, located in Cairo, will serve the local and regional market focusing on a range of services including support, commercial and technical sales, project management and cloud consultancy.
To ensure its complete portfolio of solutions is available with full local support for the market, VMware intends to hire more than 130 people in Egypt in the first year of operating the new office.
Having a local presence in-country will support VMware’s vision to help companies build, run, manage, connect and protect any app, on any cloud and any device.
This is especially important in Egypt, which has a large population of young people, creating strong demand for quality customer experience and employment opportunities.
The company is expanding ICT knowledge in Egypt through its partner programs, and through recent initiatives such as its collaboration with Egypt’s National Telecommunication Institute (NTI).
VMware also formed a collaboration with Egypt’s Information Technology Institute (ITI), an affiliate of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) in April 2019, to support Egyptian ICT students with professional training to help bridge the gap between academic studies and the skills needed in today’s competitive job market.
source: sme10x
What are the main driving forces of Egypt's current startup boom?
22 Apr 2021 Written by Admin AdminAccording to a recent article published by Wamda, startups in Egypt are benefiting from a rising investment coming from outside the country. The article highlighted the launch of two new venture capital funds in the country – Sawari Ventures closed its $71 million fund while Algebra Ventures launched its second fund, targeting $90 million with a first close expected in the third quarter of this year.
The amount of capital raised in by 34 startups in 2021 reached $22 million, this is double the amount raised by 24 startups in the fourth quarter of the last year. It is expected that the new two funds are likely to further strengthen the ecosystem by providing the needed investment for the local startups.
The article gives an optimistic outlook at the quality of the entrepreneurship as more experienced entrepreneurs are entering the market. Another element of optimism: the funding, which has been improved as well; because more foreign investors are joining the ecosystem to benefit from the available talent and opportunities in Egypt.
For example Sawari Venture’s limited partners include several Egypt-based banks as well as France’s Proparco, the Dutch Good Growth Fund and South Africa’s Sango Capital.
Financial technology (Fintech) is one of the most attractive sectors. Other sectors, such as healthtech and e-commerce, are also among the sectors that benefit from the increasing number of deals. But it is the fintech that accounts for almost 60 per cent of the amount raised so far thanks primarily to digital payments provider Paymob, which recently announced the close of its $18.5 million Series A round, the country’s largest Series A investment to date. Other notable fintech investments this year include Dayra and NowPay, both of which joined the latest batch of the US-based Y Combinator accelerator programme.
One of the main factors that played a decisive role, the steps undertaken by the government which has improved a lot of the regulations. These new improvements had focused more on promoting the startup ecosystem and promoting innovation.
Nevertheless, there are a lot of challenges to address, whether in logistics, distribution, healthcare, education, etc.
For more information: wamda
GB Auto’s non-banking financial services (NBFS) arm, Drive, had the largest share of Egypt’s factoring market in February on the back of doubling lending, according to a recent report by the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA).
Drive raised its market share to almost 22% in February after loaning out EGP 254 million, when compared to EGP 115 million in January.
Egypt Factors Company ranked second in terms of the market share at 17.7%, followed by QNB Factoring with 16%.
On a yearly basis, monthly lending in the sector hiked 40% to EGP 1.17 billion in February 2021 from EGP 830.1 million in February 2020.
Total lending in the sector now stands at EGP 6.93 billion.
In February, the value of microloans levelled up 14% to EGP 20.2 billion from EGP 17.7 billion over the same period last year.
source: zawya
Egypt’s ITIDA issues new e-signature licenses to accelerate digital transformation in Egypt
16 Mar 2021 Written by Admin AdminThe licenses that will be awarded to up to 3 companies will allow them to provide e-signature certificates, e-seal, and time stamp services for both individuals and businesses, according to ITIDA
Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) issued on Thursday new licenses for local firms to provide e-signature services.
The licenses, which will be granted to up to three companies, will allow recipients to provide e-signature certificates, e-seal, and time stamp services for both individuals and businesses, according to ITIDA.
ITIDA said that the statement of work will be available at its premise at the smart village through the coming Tuesday, 9 March, for an amount of EGP 40,000.
The statement of work includes the general and financial regulations and conditions stipulated by ITIDA for registration.
It also announced that applicants must be local firms working inside Egypt and meet all conditions and guarantees stipulated in law number 15 of 2004 and its bylaws, in addition to providing all required documents.
The ITIDA is committed to observing all substantive and technical conditions and all the regulations specified by law no.15 for the year 2004 and its executive regulations, according to the statement.
The issuing of additional e-signature services licenses is one of a series of initiatives and policies led by ITIDA that aim to support Egypt’s digital transformation.
ITIDA’s CEO Amr Mahfouz said the issuing of additional e-signature licenses comes in response to the fast development witnessed in the local information technology sector and also to further enhance Egypt’s digital readiness.
Mahfouz explained that the new licenses will enable the spread of high-security e-signature services’ usage to meet the increasing and unprecedented demand across all sectors.
The ITIDA will host a series of Q&A sessions to answer all applicants' queries in March, according to the statement.
After the deadline for submitting bids, the ITIDA will commence reviewing and evaluating all bids by a committee of specialists and experts, and results will be officially announced soon afterwards.
The ITIDA said that it is committed to awarding licenses in a period not exceeding 60 days from the date of submitting license applications, and after the submission of all required documents, unless ITIDA decides to extend applications grace-- period.
The ITIDA licenses will be valid for three years.
The e-signature law was issued in 2004 to support Egypt’s e-commerce industry by securing the internet as a legally viable medium for digital transactions in order to boost digital transformation in all state sectors.
The bylaws of the e-signature law No. 361 of 2020 have been amended under the decision of the communications and information technology minister to accelerate Egypt’s digital transformation adoption, strengthen the central role of e-signatures in developing the efficiency of administrative work, improve government services, and add to Egypt’s competitiveness globally.
In 2020, Egypt was ranked among the top 10 improvers in Roland Berger’s Digital Inclusion Index.
The index measures and analyses levels of digital inclusiveness in 82 countries across the globe based on their scores across four digital inclusion levers: accessibility, affordability, ability, and attitude.
source: Ahramhram
Music streaming platform Anghami has listed on the New York NASDAQ exchange via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Vistas Media Acquisition Company (VMAC). The merger agreement will result in Anghami becoming the second Arab company to list on NASDAQ after Aramex 24 years ago, and the first Arab technology startup to do so.
The transaction implies a pro-forma enterprise value of $220 million, which is 2.5 times its 2022 estimated revenues and compares to Spotify’s current revenue multiple of 6.5x revenue.
The combined company will operate under the Anghami name and will trade under the new symbol “ANGH.” The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021.
UAE-based asset management firm SHUAA Capital and Vistas Media Capital Singapore, the parent of the sponsor for (VMAC), have participated in a combined round of $40 million ($30 million from SHUAA and $10 million from Vistas Media Capital) in private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing for Anghami.
Accordingly, the company expects to have approximately $142 million of cash on its balance sheet at closing to be used primarily to fuel additional growth.
Founded in 2012 in Beirut by Eddy Maroun and Elie Habib, Anghami is the first music-streaming platform in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region. Its revenues have grown by 80 per cent in the past three years and is expected to increase five-fold over the next three years according to a statement issued by the company.
“Today is a very exciting day for all of us at Anghami and our partners globally. Elie and I co-founded the company in 2012 with a vision for Anghami to be a first of its kind, digital media entertainment technology platform in the Mena region. Today, we have taken a significant step forward in our growth plans in seeking to become the region’s first Arab technology company to list on NASDAQ. Being a US listed public company gives us access to growth capital and a global platform that is the best in the world,” said Eddy Maroun, co-founder and CEO of Anghami.
Anghami offers more than 57 million Arabic and international songs to more than 70 million of its registered users, with around one billion streams per month. With an Arabic speaking population of over 450 million globally, its listing on NASDAQ allows Anghami to scale its user base and invest in technology to build on its data play.
Anghami's AI and machine learning algorithms process over 56 million data points from its user base every day. Over nine years of user data is enabling the company to predict user behaviour and trends to better focus its investments and improve monetization.
The company recently relocated its headquarters to the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) in Abu Dhabi, while maintaining its offices in Beirut, Dubai, Cairo and Riyadh to establish and maintain partnerships.
The company has established direct partnerships with 36 telecommunication companies across the region to boost free user acquisitions and facilitate subscriptions.
“We’re proud of the product and technology we’ve been able to build and now we will have the ability to invest more in R&D and innovate providing a product that goes beyond music to immersive experiences around media and entertainment while remaining relevant to our users and focused on our local edge,” said Elie Habib, cofounder, Chairman and CTO of Anghami.
Anghami has raised more than $33 million to date, from several Mena-based investors including Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), Samena Capital and MBC Ventures and others who collectively own approximately 68 per cent of Anghami, with the balance owned by the founders.
“We are delighted to be leading the PIPE for Anghami’s business combination with VMAC in what will accelerate Anghami’s growth and build upon its success as a pioneer in the music streaming space in the Middle East and North Africa. SHUAA led a funding round for Anghami earlier in the year and has been working closely with the team to secure the PIPE investment and deliver a successful listing on NASDAQ.
In addition, the enhanced reputation and access to capital that comes with a listing on NASDAQ accelerates the company’s growth journey,” said Jassim Alseddiqi, group CEO of SHUAA.
source: wamda
IMF raises its forecast for Egypt's economy growth to 2.8% in 2020/21
03 Feb 2021 Written by Admin AdminInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its forecast for the Egyptian economy for 2020/2021 to 2.8 percent, from 2 percent in its forecast in June 2020.
In the report of the first review of the Credit Standards Arrangement Program for Egypt, the IMF expected the growth of the Egyptian economy by about 5.5 percent during the fiscal years 2021/2022 and 2022/2023.
According to the report, the growth of the Egyptian economy in 2024/25 is expected to reach 5.8 percent, after recording 5.6 percent in 2023/24.
The report pointed out that the abolition of closure measures and partial curfew in Egypt helped to show the Egyptian economy "early signs of recovery" after a more moderate slowdown than expected.
Egypt was one of the few countries that recorded growth during 2020, and the report estimated the growth of the Egyptian economy in 2020 by 1.5 percent.
On the other hand, this will mean that the 2022/2021 fiscal year will witness less dramatic growth, as the recovery is expected to start sooner than expected.
For his part, Minister of Finance,Mohamed Maait, indicated that the results of the consultations conducted by the IMF mission on the performance of the Egyptian economy, through video technology, during the period from 4 to 18 November 2020, confirmed the recovery of the Egyptian economy from the effects of the "pandemic", exceeding fund experts’ previous expectations, which opens the door for Egypt to obtain additional financing of $ 1.6 billion, as soon as the IMF Board of Governors approves the results of the review, which will be presented to the Board within weeks.
In May, Egypt received $ 2.77 billion from the International Monetary Fund, which represents the value of the rapid credit financing granted to the Egyptian government.
In June, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund finally approved the disbursement of a loan to Egypt worth $5.2 billion (equivalent to 3.76 billion special drawing units) for a year, within the framework of the "credit preparedness agreement" tool, to meet the financing needs of the balance of payments resulting from the "Covid-19 epidemic".
source: egypttoday
Property-listing platform isqan.com raises six-figure seed funding round to bolster its growth plans
28 Jan 2021 Written by Admin Adminisqan.com, an Egypt-based property-listing platform, has raised a six-figure seed funding round from the CEO of EGYGAB HOLDING, Mohamed Gaballah.
Founded four months ago, isqan.com has onboarded more than 50 companies, with property listings reaching over ten thousand. The startup plans to use the funds to hire more talent, invest in its marketing channels and develop its product.
“We are thrilled to be working with engineer Mohamed Gaballah. His investment in isqan.com is a testament to his belief in our team, product and growth strategy,” said Karim Kazem, co-founder of isqan.com.
The startup, according to its briefing, plans to close another financing round towards the final quarter of 2021 to bolster its growth plans.
“We aim to digitise the entire real estate industry in Egypt by providing users with the easiest, fastest and most powerful real estate search experience possible,” said Ali Ezzat, co-founder at isqan.com.
According to Omar Mohamed, the chief technical officer (CTO), tech lead at Isqan.com the investment will also support isqan.com in providing a valuable service and offering real value to its users by guiding them to make their next real estate purchase, helping usher the Egyptian real estate market into the modern age.
“isqan.com is a very unique product to the real estate market, not only that it provides a much-improved user experience and incredibly powerful features, but it is also powered by a very advanced and modern tech stack which enables us to provide these unprecedented offerings to the market,” said Omar Doma.
The startup also aims to close a further funding round in the final quarter of 2021 in order to boost its development plans.
According to Afrikan Heroes, Mohamed Gaballah’s faith in isqan was strengthened by the fact that Isqan.com’s team is a very strong one, with both co-founders of the startup having previous experience in the real estate industry.
As a real estate brokerage owner based in Dubai, Karim Kazem, CEO and Co-Founder of Isqan.com was able to realize the unquestionable importance of how real estate portals contribute to the digital economy. It was not long until he started working towards launching a real estate listing portal in Egypt.
In September 2020, iqan.com raised a six-figure seed round from an undisclosed angel.
Isqan.com is offering in the Egyptian property market, a completely free of charge service, giving end-users three free listings, to help them rent or sell a property. Isqan.com has partnered with a number of market leaders to offer users a wide range of trusted and legitimized options.
“We created Isqan.com to simplify the home buying, selling, and renting process.
Isqan.com is an easy way for today’s clientele to search for commercial and residential properties. We aim to tap in to local and international property markets, ultimately revolutionizing the Middle Eastern digital real estate landscape,” Karim Kazem.
Companies listed on the platform include Egypt Best Properties, New Avenue, Byotat, Insider, B2B, Ultimate Real Estate, Remax, Irtkaz, Era, Daddy Estate Investment, Abrag, Proper Move, among several others.
source: africaincmag
ICA Teams up with the Insurance Institute of East Africa to Offer Financial Crime Prevention Education in East Africa
02 Oct 2020 Written by Admin AdminICA Teams up with the Insurance Institute of East Africa to Offer Financial Crime Prevention Education in East Africa
Partnership comes at a time of increased need for effective financial crime prevention training and education globally
30 September 2020 – The International Compliance Association (ICA), the leading professional body for the global regulatory and financial crime compliance community, has signed a partnership with the Insurance Institute of East Africa to provide ICA education in financial crime prevention and governance, risk and compliance in the East African region.
The need for effective financial crime prevention training has never been more pronounced, as local media reported last week on the FinCEN Files. While the emerging narrative is especially complex and continues to evolve, around 53 Kenyan companies and individuals appeared in a leak of banking records as suspicious financial activity amounting to $60 billion[1].
East African jurisdictions Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda remain particularly vulnerable to money laundering, fraud and terrorist financing, and are amongst the lowest scoring countries in the 2019 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index.
ICA’s suite of accredited qualifications are designed for every level of expertise and aim to equip regulatory and financial crime compliance professionals with the knowledge and skills they need to mitigate the threat of financial crime, better analyse situations and consider appropriate risk controls.
As part the new partnership between ICA and the Insurance Institute of East Africa, professionals in the insurance, banking and finance, telecommunications and other sectors in the region will now have access to ICA qualifications in a range of key subjects including compliance, anti money laundering, managing sanctions risk and customer due diligence, joining ICA’s global community of over 150,000 compliance professionals.
[1] ‘FinCEN files: 53 Kenyan banks, individuals made illicit transactions worth Ksh.6 trillion’ Citizen TV, Kenya, Last Accessed: 25/09/2020 Link
ICA President Bill Howarth commented: ‘We are pleased to partner with the Insurance Institute of East Africa, combining ICA’s international expertise with their local knowledge, to effectively raise compliance standards in the region and help organisations mitigate and detect risk more effectively at their firm. Our internationally recognised professional qualifications include real-life examples and case studies with a real emphasis on application of knowledge, helping to upskill employees and safeguard businesses and communities from financial crime risk.’
Elijah Mogere, Director, Insurance Institute of East Africa, added: ‘We are delighted to partner with ICA as this gives us the opportunity to deliver high quality and internationally recognised financial crime prevention qualifications in the region to develop capacity for banks, insurance companies, and telecommunication providers, among other sectors, to mitigate the threat of financial crime, better analyse situations and consider appropriate risk controls.’
ICA qualifications are awarded in association with The University of Manchester, Alliance Manchester Business School.
To view the full suite of qualifications, visit: https://www.int-comp.org/course-finder/
الشركة المصرية للطيران تحدد الفئات المسموح لها بالسفر إلى المملكة العربية السعودية
19 Sep 2020 Written by Admin Adminحددت شركة مصر للطيران، الفئات المسموح لهم بالسفر الى المملكة العربية السعودية، اعتبارًا من يوم 15 أيلول/ سبتمبر، حيث تم تحديد الفئات المسموح لها بالسفر إلى المملكة بناءً على تعليمات هيئة الطيران المدني السعودي، حيث تقررت الأخيرة السماح بالدخول للاجانب من غير السعوديين (وغير المواطنين في دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي) لمن يحمل منهم تأشيرات؛ خروج وعودة، أو عمل، أو إقامة أو زيارة. بالإضافة للسماح للمواطنين السعوديين ومرافقيهم من غير السعوديين أو أزواجهم وأطفالهم من غير السعوديين بالسفر إلى المملكة.
وكانت هيئة الطيران المدني قد اعلنت في وقت سابق، عبر بيان نشرته على صفحتها الرسمية على توتير، عن الضوابط الجديدة للسفر من وإلى المملكة، حيث اشترطت الهيئة في بيانها لدخول غير السعوديين إلى أراضيها بتقديم ما يثبت عدم إصابتهم بفايروس كورونا المستجد وذلك بناء على تحليل حديث من جهة موثوقة ومعتمدة من خارج المملكة، وان لا يكون قد مرا على تاريخ إجراء الفحص أكثر من 48 ساعة من لحظة وصوله إلى المطار.
كما أشار البيان هيئة الطيران المدني السعودية إلى ضرورة الالتزام بالإجراءات الوقائية الصحية التي تفرض الحجر المنزلي للقادمين من خارج المملكة لمدة لا تقل عن ثلاثة أيام، وذلك شريطة وجود نتيجة فحص ال(pcr) السلبي، لعينة أخذت بعد 48 ساعة من الوصول إلى السعودية وخلوهم من أي أعراض اشتباه بالإصابة بفيروس كورونا المستجد، واضافة الهيئة في بيانها أنها ستقوم بتحديث الدليل الإرشادي للمسافر الذي يتضمن البروتوكولات الصحية المعتمدة للسفر خلال هذه المرحلة.
