Khazna Banks from Egypt Banks $ 16 million for its financially super application and expansion in Saudi Arabia
Much of Egypt’s population has no access to traditional banking, forcing many to rely on cash transactions and informal lending. KhaznaThe launch of Fintech, founded in 2019, is dealing with this problem by offering financial services tailored to low and medium -sized workers. The company provides solutions such as wage advances, digital payments and microons to help employees and contractors have access to such financial services.
Khazna recently provided $ 16 million to fund before Serie B, led to over $ 63 million. The investment will support its plans to expand as it is preparing to apply for a digital banking license in Egypt and expand in Saudi Arabia.
When we covered Fintech in 2022, it just as long as we raised $ 38 million Prior to Series A with over 150,000 customers in their products. Today, Khazna has grown its consumer base to over 500,000 people; This number is half of what was directed twice until the end of 2022, according to what Saleh shared at that time.
The company focuses on workers who earn three times less than Egypt’s minimum wage, providing them with affordable financial instruments. About 100,000 users receive their salaries through Khazna, which allows the company to integrate financial services such as loans and insurance directly into its salaries.
For the remaining 400,000 users, Khazna offers lending services, helping workers’ and pensioners concerts have access to credit. Executive Director Omar Saleh explained that the company initially focused on payable loans and pension loans, contributing to its hassle -free last month.
“What we had done in the last two and a half years was to focus on our main product, which is the credit offering of salaries and pension recipients, as well as unsecured loans to workers at concerts,” said co -founder and executive director Omar Saleh in front of TechCrunch on call. “This is the most fierce and main product in our trip, and it was rightly important because it helped us to achieve profitability.”
On the way to turning into a digital bank
Khazna provides other services such as account payments, buy now, pay later, medical insurance and a rental product. But by incorporating both salaries and lending, it strategically moves towards turning into a full -fledged digital bank for the undervalued communities in Egypt.
But one thing is missing: unlike traditional banks, a treasury, like many Fintech in Egypt, has no access to customer deposits, which makes it expensive to fund loans. So far, Khazna relies on wholesale debt financing in dollars (USD) and the Egyptian pound (EGP) to finance its credit operations.
In order to reduce the cost of borrowing and to offer more affordable loans, Khazna is already working to obtain a license to take deposits in Egypt. This license would allow the launch to accept customer deposits, which allows it to reduce its costs.
“The biggest change of game here is to access user deposits. There is a huge opportunity to capture part of this market in a way that will make our cost of funding much more attractive than it is today, and in the end it will put us in a very differentiated position, “he noted.
Khazna is aimed by mid -2026 to provide a banking license from the Central Bank in Egypt, which defined its regulatory framework for digital banks in July 2024.
But since the six -year -old Fintech begins with this process, he simultaneously places views of Saudi Arabia, where there is a growing search for consumer financing solutions. Unlike BNPL players as Tabi and TamaraFocusing on short -term BNPL Credit, Khazna hopes to distinguish between medium -term credit products as an accessible salary (EWA), loans supported by salaries, and a pension -based loan.
Expansion plans including not so immediate ipo
Another reason Khazna is the prioritization of the Saudis is his strong relationship with Egypt, Saleh notes. With nearly three million Egyptians living in Saudi Arabia, the translation corridor in Egypt-Saudi is one of the largest in the world, presenting the opportunity to offer cross-border financial services, combining offers led by currency loans (FX) solutions.
In addition to the size of the market and the adaptation of the product, Saudi Arabia’s capital markets are also an engine in Khazna’s decision, according to Saleh. Tadawul is one of the most liquid stock exchanges managed by the region, launching several IPOs in the last few years.
For this reason, Khazna plans 40-50% of its business to come from the Saudi part over the next four years, making it eligible for a public list of Tadawul. For investors at an early stage that support the company for four to five years, Saleh says that this provides a clear path to a high value exit.
Of course, Khazna will fund this expansion with recently increased capital for growth. However, the macroeconomic challenges in Egypt over the last two years have had a hand in structuring this circle before the B.
Between 2022 and 2023, Egypt encountered currencies and economic instability, which makes it difficult to raise funds for start -ups and endeavors. The overall delay in the flow of transactions reflects this as investors have taken a cautious approach to the Egyptian start -ups. But 2024 brought a big change, with over $ 50 billion in direct foreign investment (FDI) embarking on Egypt after economic reforms and a fascinating currency course. As a result, investor confidence returned, leading to renewed interest from global and regional investors.
As such, Khazna welcomes participation from new and existing investors, including global investors such as Quona and Speedinvest, as well as regional financial institutions and investment companies such as Sanad Fund for Msme, AnB Seed Fund (managed by Anb Capital), Aljazira Capital of Bank Aljazira of Saudi Arabia), Tibas Ventures (the hand of risk capital of 11şbank from Turkey), Khwarizmi Ventures, NCLUDE (Fintech Fund, created by the largest national banks in Egypt) and ICU Ventures.
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