Egyptian fintech startup Raseedi has raised $850,000 in a pre-series A round led by European investment firm Samurai Incubate, with 500 Global, EFG-EV, and Falak Startups as investors.
Raseedi is a VOIP (voice-over-internet protocol) app that helps users make low-cost calls and offers data-driven savings tips.
Ahmed Attala and Samuel Samy launched it in 2018. The dialer software on the mobile app is used to make calls, and it receives over 10 million monthly visits.
Raseedi is adopting an innovative technique to get millions of Egyptians into the fintech business who are now unbanked.
In a category where community and savings are key, the App’s access point is supporting users in making inexpensive calls and giving them data-driven saving tips.
With an average of 120 visits per person per month for the general consumer and over 1,000 visits per user per month for the top users, it’s not difficult to introduce clients to payments and hassle-free advance credit.
Payment volume increased by 5 times in only one month, and over 5,000 advance credit amounts were given out on the scene in just a few months, all based on a smart internal rating system based on the obtained telecom data.
“Raseedi has always focused on the public, bringing them a better means to connect at a lower cost,” said Ahmed Atalla, co-founder and CEO of Raseedi, three years after the launch of their app.
As a result, once an app becomes a user’s daily trusted dialer, it transforms into a trusted network or circle for engaging with their contacts, friends, and family.
Users can now call for less money, pay telecom/utility bills, and take advance telecom credit, but think if users could communicate for FREE inside this community in the future, pay peers/contacts, borrow from peers, or even be guaranteed cash loans by members of their community.
Samurai Incubate responded by stating its strong belief that Raseedi’s unique strategy of offering the software to Egypt’s unbanked will not only make it easier and more affordable for them to use their phones, but will also open the door to credit.
The company is led by three expert founders who are passionate about tackling the problems with existing telco services and have already put together a great team to help them achieve their goals.
As a result, Samurai Incubate is thrilled to help them in their mission to improve internet access for Africans.
Raseedi’s co-founder, COO, and head of product, Samuel Samy, commented on the investment, saying that the company has always been a lean tech startup, spending only on people and technology and never on assets or operations. As a result, the company’s goal is to create a daily product that is completely reliant on technology and has no reliance on any on-the-ground operations.
