Raseedi and Kashat sign off acquisition deal. (Image Credits: Raseedi)
Egyptian fintech startup, Raseedi, has acquired Kashat, a nano-finance provider, along with its subsidiary Pharos Microfinance, for an undisclosed amount. The deal represents a huge leap for Raseedi as it aims to expand its range of services and introduce instant loans.
Founded in 2018 by Ahmed Atalla and Samuel Samy, Raseedi kicked off operations by offering underbanked users a dialler to make cheaper calls, receive saving tips, make payments and borrow Airtime and bills instantly without a credit history.
With the acquisition of Kashat, Raseedi will be able to offer cash loans of up to EGP 3,000 (approximately $95) to small business owners and sole proprietors, an amount that will be scheduled for disbursement within five minutes. Raseedi’s credit scoring algorithm and proprietary technology will be instrumental in determining borrower eligibility, as a period of one to three months were earmarked as repayment cycles for these short term loans.
The startup currently has about 120,000 monthly active users, aiming to increase this figure to 1.5 million within the time frame of six to eight months. Beyond this milestone is a longer-term target of 3 million. According to Ahmed Atalla, Raseedi’s CEO, the plan is to disburse up to EGP 3000 to underbanked users. He also added that the company intends to engage with the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) to potentially increase this lending limit. The focus is on providing access to finance for small businesses and entrepreneurial ventures.
Apart from individual borrowers, Raseedi plans to kick off a business-to-business (B2B) service in the second half of the year. This service will be aimed at forging partnerships with companies that offer ride-hailing services and delivery platforms, as a way of helping drivers and delivery workers receive instant payments or cash advances of up to EGP 3000. “The goal is to conduct partnerships with big businesses with a lot of employees on the ground to give them the ability to be paid in advance for their endeavours,” Mr. Atalla explained.
Raseedi’s chief executive, Ahmed Atalla, unveiled plans for expansion following the acquisition of Rashat. After a six-month period of testing the waters in Egypt, the company plans to expand into markets with considerable populations who do not have access to banking services, including Morocco, Uzbekistan, and other countries in Central and West Africa. Atalla also mentioned that Morocco is a tentative target for launch within twelve months.
Karim Nour, co-founder and chief executive of Kashat, highlighted the significance of the deal in a statement: “The ability to easily lend money to the masses will be expanded, and Raseedi along with Kashat, through its subsidiary Pharos Microfinance, will become Egypt’s only financial service provider to offer nano loans at scale; and that was purpose built for the task. This deal is important because the companies involved are true big data and artificial intelligence players, and are both home-grown.”
