Blnk Secures $37 Million to Expand AI-Driven Consumer Lending in Egypt

Blnk, an Egyptian financial technology company focused on point-of-sale lending, has raised $37 million in a mix of equity and debt to scale its consumer finance operations in one of the Middle East’s fastest-growing credit markets.

The funding includes a $12.5 million Series A equity round led by Algebra Ventures, with participation from SANAD Fund for MSME, Endeavor Catalyst and Emirates International Investment Company.

An additional $24.6 million in local currency debt was provided by a group of Egyptian banks and non-bank financial institutions, including National Bank of Egypt, Suez Canal Bank and Bank Albaraka.

The Cairo-based startup offers instant financing to consumers at checkout, allowing shoppers to split payments over periods ranging from six to 36 months. Loans are approved in as little as three minutes with minimal documentation, using proprietary algorithms that assess creditworthiness in real time.

The company said it will use the proceeds to enhance its technology, broaden its product suite and expand geographically. It also plans to introduce a credit card product that would allow customers to access financing beyond its existing merchant network of more than 3,000 outlets.

Blnk’s model is gaining traction in Egypt, where access to formal credit remains limited despite a rise in bank account ownership. Fewer than 5% of adults have access to formal borrowing tools, according to industry estimates, while just 3.9% of women use credit cards or digital lending platforms.

At the same time, the country’s consumer finance market grew 57% year-on-year in 2025 to reach 96.3 billion Egyptian pounds ($2 billion), data from the Financial Regulatory Authority show.

Founded in 2021, Blnk says it has onboarded more than one million customers and built a loan portfolio exceeding 1 billion Egyptian pounds. About 75% of its users were previously unbanked or underserved, and more than a third are women. The company became profitable in 2025 after revenue rose 173% from a year earlier.

Chief Executive Officer Amr Sultan said the latest funding would help the company deepen financial access while maintaining disciplined risk management.

“We’re focused on expanding our reach and continuing to build products that meet consumers where they are,” Sultan said.

Blnk differentiates itself through its use of artificial intelligence to evaluate credit risk. Its system analyzes localized data points to generate real-time probability-of-default predictions, replacing traditional scoring methods that rely heavily on formal financial histories.

Investors say the approach positions the company to address a structural gap in Egypt’s financial system.

“Blnk’s ability to serve underserved consumers while maintaining strong credit discipline makes it a standout in the market,” said Karim Hussein, managing partner at Algebra Ventures.

As digital lending gains ground across emerging markets, Blnk’s growth highlights a broader shift toward embedded finance models that integrate credit directly into retail transactions—an approach increasingly seen as key to expanding access in economies where traditional banking has fallen short.