Egyptian fintech startups Dayra and NowPay have been selected into the Silicon Valley-based Y Combinator accelerator, which both companies have announced as part of wider funding rounds.
The Y Combinator Winter 2021 batch sees selected startups receive US$125,000 in seed funding as well as further investment opportunities at a demo day, and features Nigeria’s Mono, Ivory Coast’s Djamo and Kenya’s Kidato.
Also representing Africa in the cohort are two Egyptian fintechs, both of whom have also raised wider funding rounds. The first is Dayra, which offers an API and mobile app that enables companies of different sizes to provide financial services to their workforce.
The US$125,000 secured from Y Combinator is part of a wider US$3 million pre-seed funding round raised by the company. A mix of equity and debt financing, the round also includes investment from Tanmiya Capital Ventures, EFG EV, EFG Hermes, and a handful of angel investors. Dayra will use the round to expand its team and add new products to its suite.
Also part of the latest Y Combinator cohort, and on the fundraising trail, is NowPay, a financial wellness platform for emerging markets, which allows employees to access their salary at any point during the month. The startups, which raised a US$2.1 million seed funding round last year, has secured an undisclosed pre-Series A round, which features Y Combinator as well as Global Ventures, Beco Capital, Endure Capital, Foundation Ventures, and Abderahman ElSewedy.
