Egyptian startup Raseedi, a self-described “social fintech” solution, claims to be building the largest network of underbanked customers who want to communicate, save money and find easy financing without a formal credit history.
Founded in 2018 by Ahmed Atalla and Samuel Samy, Raseedi has developed a mobile application that helps users make calls at the cheapest cost per minute and provides them with data driven saving tips and financing products.
Aimed at dual SIM users, it helps them optimise their telecom spend via its dialer app, which uses a smart algorithm to cross-match user consumption with suitable packages on both lines, and automates calls from the cheapest SIM.
Atalla said while Raseedi’s competitors were looking at building convenience-driven fintech solutions for a niche, the startup was building a value-driven solution for the masses.
“Unlike other platforms, Raseedi is a people-first business and not service-first one. We started with solving three main needs the masses had in common – wanting to communicate at a cheap cost, wanting to save on food, medical and telecoms spend, and finding financing without having a credit history,” he said.
“Our strength is in the number of people using our dialer app to make their every day calls and our saving tips to make their every day spending decisions.”
The number is high. Engagement on the Raseedi app grew by 18 times in the last six months, to three million phone calls per month.
“Our app’s top users open our app 200 times a month and the super users 1,000 times,” Atalla said. Raseedi makes money from claiming a percentage of any services offered through its platform.
This impressive uptake spurred a US$400,000 seed funding round late last year, led by 500 Startups and joined by Falak Startups and EFG-EV. Now, the goal is expansion into Africa and the Middle East.
“Our aim is to reach countries with large masses in the underbanked segment,” Atalla said.
