Egypt’s first fully digital and FRA-regulated SME financing platform, announced today that the company has successfully closed its seed round by raising US$3 million blended funding round, comprising both equity and debt.
Investors
The equity round was led by Egypt Ventures, with participation from Camel Ventures, Sukna Ventures, Plus VC, Banque Misr, and prominent regional family offices including El Sewedy and Baalbaki, alongside strategic corporate bankers. On the debt side, Flend has secured facilities from MSMEDA, as well as other local banking partners.
Flend was founded by a team of experts in banking, fintech, and development finance who had long witnessed the structural barriers preventing Egyptian SMEs from accessing the capital they need to grow. Drawing on their experience—from corporate banking to public policy and technology—they launched Egypt’s first digital, regulated SME financing platform to replace bureaucracy with data, and delay with speed. United by a mission to deliver fast, fair, and flexible capital to Egypt’s SMEs, Flend was built from the ground up to be the tech-first, regulation-led platform that meets businesses where they operate—closing the financing gap with efficiency, trust, and scale.
Flend’s Expansion
The newly raised capital will be deployed to accelerate Flend’s expansion of embedded financing through partnerships with leading digital platforms serving SMEs, expand its team, and deepen its proprietary tech infrastructure to serve Egypt’s $50 billion SME financing gap.
“We’re proud to be backed by some of the most experienced and forward-looking investors and institutions in the region,” said Ahmed Zaki, Co-Founder and CEO of Flend. “This funding round allows us to deliver financing where SMEs actually do business — embedded directly into the platforms and sectors that drive Egypt’s productive economy.”
Flexible Financing
“Since launching Flend, our mission has been clear: to unlock fast, flexible financing for Egypt’s SMEs by meeting them where they do business. In just six months, we’ve served 15+ sectors, cut approval times by 95%, and built a fully digital, FRA-regulated platform with 20+ embedded partners across logistics, payments, marketplaces, and e-commerce. We’ve seen a significant surge in demand and are excited to scale our impact—aiming to inject EGP 1 billion into the SME sector within our first year, with a focus on short-term working capital loans.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Flend and its outstanding team. Across sectors, access to capital for small and medium enterprises remains a persistent challenge. Flend’s mission to digitally transform SME financing in Egypt to make access to finance easier, faster, and more inclusive will be critical to unlocking value across industries,” commented Abdelrahman Mansour, CEO of Egypt Ventures. “At Egypt Ventures, we are committed to supporting innovative startups that drive value, unlock economic potential, and create sustainable impact. We are very excited for this next phase in Flend’s journey.”
Digital Non-Banking Financial
In late 2024, Flend became the first company in Egypt to be licensed by the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) as a Digital Non-Banking Financial Institution (Digital NBFI) dedicated to SME lending. This milestone positions Flend at the forefront of Egypt’s financial transformation — legally empowered to issue loans entirely online using digitally binding contracts and e-signatures.
Commenting on the announcement, Hasan Haider, Founder and Managing Partner at Plus VC said: “Access to SME financing remains a challenge across Egypt and the wider region, limiting the growth of one of the most important segments of the economy. Flend is addressing this gap by making lending more embedded, digital-first, and truly accessible. At Plus VC, we back founders solving high-impact problems with scalable, tech-driven solutions, and Flend demonstrates that vision. We’re proud to support Ahmed, Nehal, Saif, Mohammed and the team as they pioneer as leaders and transform SME lending across the region.”
Digitally Enabled Financial System
“The FRA’s recognition reflects Egypt’s commitment to building a modern, inclusive, and digitally enabled financial system—and Flend is a direct beneficiary of that vision,” said Nehal Helmy, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Flend. “Our goal is to build the infrastructure for fair, fast, and flexible financing — while upholding the highest standards of governance and compliance. With full FRA licensing and our proprietary technology, we reduce approval times from months to days and offer SMEs a transparent, legally sound alternative to outdated processes.”
Flend enables embedded lending by integrating directly with digital platforms that serve SME supply chains. By embedding financing at the point of commerce, Flend improves reach, reduces acquisition costs, and leverages richer data for better credit decisions.
In parallel, Flend finances SMEs directly in strategic sectors such as healthcare distribution, agri-food, manufacturing, e-commerce, retail, and local exporters — aligning with national development goals and Egypt’s real economic growth drivers.
