Egyptian fintech startup MoneyHash, which uses a universal API and a unified checkout experience to help businesses consolidate and grow their payments and financial tech stack, has closed a six-figure US dollar pre-seed funding round to launch its services across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.
Founded in late 2020 by Nader Abdelrazik, Mustafa Eid and Anisha Sekar, MoneyHash provides a unified checkout experience built on top of a secure super-API that aggregates payment and fintech solutions through a single integration, as well as a central dashboard consolidating technical infrastructure and centralising data and operational reporting.
The startup in April raised a pre-seed funding round ahead of a full launch across the MEA region. MoneyHash is currently in a private beta with plans to go live soon in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and UAE, while it aims to be fully operational across various countries in Africa and the Middle East by 2022.
The six-figure round was led by UAE-based venture capital firm COTU Ventures, with participation from Ventures Platform, Kepple Africa Ventures, and various angel investors.
“MEA is one of the fastest growing emerging markets with a rapidly evolving payment and fintech scene. As many companies in the region and abroad plan their expansion across the region, they are faced with a devastating technical and operational hassle – building a separate connection with each service provider while providing a unified experience for their customers,” Abdelrazik said.
“This results in a complicated tech stack wasting valuable resources with increased vulnerabilities to errors, fraud, and technical debt. MoneyHash’s technology abstracts the complexities of this fragmented market and allows businesses to scale and grow with a complete focus on their product, and without compromising security and efficiency.”
Amir Farha, managing partner of COTU Ventures, said it was rare to find such a well-rounded and complete team with deep domain experience and technical prowess so early in a company’s life.
“We’re very excited to back Nader, Anisha and Mustafa, as they look to tackle a problem that suits a fragmented region like the Middle East. The clarity with which they articulated their vision and strategy, and the chemistry we felt from the start, convinced us to support them in kick starting their plans to build a payments super API for the region and beyond. We are grateful they chose us as partners and are looking forward to what’s ahead,” he said.
Kola Aina, founding partner of Ventures Platform, was also excited to back the MoneyHash team.
“The team’s vision is compelling, and the product enables companies to scale their products and services across Africa and the Middle East with minimal friction. They are essentially powering the growth and expansion of startups and enterprise across the region,” he said.
