Egypt’s Telda has raised US$5 million in a pre-seed funding round led by US VC firm Sequoia Capital, Berlin-based Global Founders Capital (GFC) and Class 5 Global that will enable the digitization of how Egyptians save, spend and send money.
The pre-seed funding round led by Sequoia Capital is the largest in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).In addition; it is Sequoia Capital’s first investment in MENA, while Telda is the first digital bank in Egypt.
Founders Ahmed Sabbah and Youssef Sholqamy founded the Cairo-based startup a month ago. The founders teamed up to work on Telda with an aim of changing how Gen Z spends and manages their money in the Middle East starting with Egypt.
Launched in April ,the fintech offers digital banking services that cater for the financial needs of millennials and Generation Z.The startup lets users sign up for a Telda account completely online with their phone number and national ID without any paperwork needed.
The Telda’s account comes with a MasterCard-powered card that is used for online payments, in store purchases and cash withdrawals. Users can receive money on Telda from anyone in Egypt and beyond using the international bank account number (IBAN) that they receive for their digital account.
Within the first month of its operations, Telda has already acquired over 30,000 sign ups with over 17,000 people who’ve requested the card from the app. Telda has become the first company in Egypt to receive a license from the Central bank of Egypt under the new Banking Agents regulations. The license allows Telda to issue cards and onboard customers digitally.
With the funds raised, Telda intends to grow in Egypt and supply cards to the early adopters while the team visualizes supplying close to a million cards in its first year.
Telda is currently referred to as the money app as it is the first digital banking experience in Egypt enabling customers to create a free account in seconds, receive a free Telda card to use online, in stores and to withdraw cash from any ATM worldwide and pay bills all directly from their phone.
