Fawry: Egypt’s Leading E-payments Player, and First Fintech IPO Success Story

 

Fawry is Egypt’s leading e-payments player, and first fintech IPO success story reaching $1 billion market cap after listing in 2019.

• Total Funding: US$ 142 million
• Year Established: 2008
• HQ: Cairo
• Sector: Fintech
• Employees: 5,000-10,000
• Website: http://www.fawry.com/

It was a monumental moment when Mohamed Okasha, ex-Managing Director, announced on his LinkedIn account in August 2020, “Fawry is officially a Unicorn :)”. Fawry was the first ever startup to reach a billion-dollar valuation in Egypt. Established in 2008 by Ashraf Sabry, Fawry provides a diversified e-payment platform which facilitates everything from electronic bill payments to mobile top-ups. 

In frame: Ashraf Sabry, Founder of Fawry

Fawry’s journey to reaching unicorn status was a long one driven with strategic moves and focused vision up until a landmark moment in 2019 when the company put 36% of its shares on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) at LE 6.46 (US $0.21) per share. With an IPO that was oversubscribed by an overwhelming 30.3 times, aiming to accumulate LE 1.6 billion (US $51,780,000), this strategy wasn’t merely a fundraiser but an astute maneuver to involve influential stakeholders in its journey. About 21% of the offering was divided between Actis, Banque Misr, and the National Bank of Egypt, the rest engaging public and substantial investors. 

Following, Fawry recorded LE 38.0 million (US $1.2 million) in consolidated profits during Q1 of 2020, an 82% increase from LE 20.9 million (US $0.7 million) a year before, while revenues rose to LE 258.0 million (US $8.3 million) from LE 173.9 million (US $5.6 million) during the same period. Two years later, Fawry’s annual revenue had spiked to US $75 million in 2022, and its market cap stood at $542 million as of March 2022. 

Also Read: E-Payment Platform Fawry, Strives for Financial Inclusion of Banked and Unbanked Egyptians

Fawry processed transactions worth an astounding $6.8 billion in 2022, and today, the company is not merely a financial entity but a lighthouse in Egypt’s digital financial landscape. Fawry Microfinance launched its digital loan request and tracking mobile app “Tamweelak Fawry” in November 2022, and they’ve announced a BNPL service on the horizon for 2023. Their network boasts a strong line-up of 36 member banks and over 280,000 agents as well as a user-friendly app that has enabled over 50 million users to seamlessly navigate through payments, collections, reconciliations, and other financial operations. The number of transactions has also grown an impressive 22% Y-o-Y from 2018 to 2022 and is set to touch over 1.5 billion transactions at the end of 2023.

What’s next? Fawry has been engaging new partners and collaborators including The UN World Food Programme (WFP), Tamatem Plus, and CYBERX to deliver WFP cash-assistance, enhance e-payment experiences, and spread cyber security awareness among Egyptians.

Next Read: Egyptian Unicorns & Success Stories

 

Read more in the Special Report, ‘Investing in Egypt’s Startup Ecosystem’.