Egypt-based Connect Money secures $8 million Seed round to enable non-bank businesses to offer embedded finance services

💳 Say hello to Connect Money, an Egyptian BaaS platform focused on embedded finance services, helping businesses issue white-label debit and credit cards and enabling companies to offer a range of financial services to their customers.

And they just secured $8 million in seed funding!

• Founded in 2024 by Ayman Essawy (CEO), Wadi Jalil (CTO), and Abdelaziz Sarhan (COO).
• Essawy brings extensive experience, having co-founded LuckyOne, a consumer app for credit, deals, and cashback rewards, and playing a key role in launching DSquares, a loyalty platform set to IPO in Saudi Arabia.

💰 Investor lowdown: The round was led by DisrupTech Ventures, Algebra Ventures, and Lorax Capital Partners.

🏦 What’s the deal with BaaS?

In a nutshell, Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) allows non-bank businesses to offer digital banking services, like payments and lending, using APIs from licensed banks, saving them time, money, and effort by eliminating the need to build their own banking infrastructure or get regulatory approvals.

⚙️ Break it down

Connect Money uses a subscription-based model where businesses pay a monthly fee per card. This helps them avoid large upfront capital expenses (CapEx) and simplifies offering financial services.

Starting in Egypt, Connect Money plans to expand into Morocco and Kenya, which have growing fintech markets and high demand for digital financial services.

Connect Money's platform is super versatile and can work across many sectors.

For example:

• Agriculture: Supply chain companies can issue cards to farmers for easier payments and credit access.
• Businesses with Long Settlement Cycles: They can benefit from instant payments and disbursements, improving cash flow management

🔮 Flashforward

The fresh funding will enable Connect Money to launch five new business verticals in North African markets.