Wasla, the Egyptian browser-based eCommerce platform, has raised $9 million US dollars in Series A funding from Contact Financial Holdings, a non-bank consumer finance provider in Egypt, to aid its new online shopping capabilities and products and regional expansion.
About Wasla – Shop Anything and Save on Everything
Founded in 2018 by Serag Meneassy and Taymour Sabry, both ex-Rocket Internet entrepreneurs, and investment banker Mahmoud El-Said, Wasla is focused on optimizing the end-to-end online shopping experience and is the first emerging markets mobile web browser and desktop extension that helps users save money, pay securely, build their credit profiles and gain access to flexible and convenient financing.
It is the first web browser that helps users save money as they shop online through aggregated deals, discounts, and cashback for a network of over 100 local and regional eCommerce merchants.
How sweet is it to earn cashback whenever you shop online with your favorite browser? Did I hear you say super cool?
Wasla is a reimagining of the modern-day web browser, moving past legacy browsers and powering a mobile-first experience built from Africa for Africans. The platform combines rewarding, browsing, and eCommerce technologies delivered through a unique experience optimized for online shopping.
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In 2025, the whole eCommerce sector in Africa might reach over $46.1 billion, according to Statista.
Interestingly, the browser-based eCommerce startup currently has 35 team members 1.5 million app downloads, with 8.5x year on year on year growth in total eCommerce traffic.
Optimizing the eCommerce Search and Discovery Experience, rolling out new products and regional expansion with Contact $9M Funding – Wasla
Contact Financial Holdings — formerly Sarwa Capital — is Egypt’s largest consumer finance platform, transforming how people access finance since 2001. As the first financial services platform to introduce advanced credit scoring and collection mechanisms in Egypt, this strategic investment adds to Contact’s growing footprint in fintech, particularly in eCommerce, allowing Wasla to engage consumers at the beginning of their eCommerce journey while they search, discover, and shop online.
The Chairman of Contact Financial Holding, Hazem Moussa, told TechCrunch that the $9 million funding is an equity investment through a series of investments that aim to grow the business in the future, to enable their business plan their achievement of the company’s vision.
Mahmoud El-Said, CEO of Wasla, commented — “Having personally worked with the Contact team before, I was always amazed at what they have been able to build as a leading consumer finance platform in the region. This is why we believe this deep partnership, leveraging Contact’s market position, experience, and fully digitized loan origination process, will allow us to expand our offering catering to the online shopping experience by introducing completely new ways to help consumers save money on each online purchase, pay securely, build their credit profiles, and borrow flexibly.”
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Wasla’s current focus is on optimizing the eCommerce search and discovery experience by helping users save money online through aggregating deals for a network of over 100 local and regional e-commerce merchants (similar to US startup Honey, which sold to PayPal in 2019 for $4 billion).
The browser-based eCommerce platform is set to introduce a range of products and options, including buy now, pay later (BNPL) financing and a new online payment option.
Wasla, whose experience is pegged on its browser, has different features, including a deal finder that aggregates discount codes and cashback links across a network of merchants. It is also set to introduce a price-comparison tool, as it continues to add new functionalities for a better end-to-end shopper experience.
“In the checkout phase, we plan to introduce a very secure payment method…limited by time or value. And the final step is integrating financing or buy now, pay later solutions directly within that. It is an end-to-end eCommerce experience starting from search and discovery to financing,” Wasla Co-founder and CEO El-Said told TechCrunch.
The new payment option is set to encourage shoppers to transact online because Egypt is currently a predominantly cash-on-delivery market, which El-Said said is a “costly operation for merchants.”
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Offline payment is also a costly option for buyers as it comes with a cash-on-delivery fee. Contact is set to bring in its experience in consumer finance and technology, including its advanced credit services platform, to help Wasla extend financing to shoppers.
Moussa commented — “We are thrilled to be supporting the Wasla team to build out their vision of a digital ecosystem enabling online shopping for all. With over twenty years of innovation in consumer financial services, this strategic investment demonstrates Contact’s drive to multiply its reach and empower businesses with its advanced credit services platform.”
“We are working on extending what we have built-in terms of credit engines, AI scoring engines, and a variety of tools…including instant approval, fast approvals, and pre-approvals,” said Moussa.
“With the whole experience being on the Wasla browser, you have a lot more access to customer behavior and customer interests and therefore be able to tailor the programs to the user base, and so that is a big addition to the experience — from the start the journey to the payments to the financing,” he added.
As it seems, with the regional expansion plan, Wasla is eyeing to enter the Nigerian market.
“It’s a huge market at the end of the day; you have roughly 250 million people. They’re very technologically advanced, and their adoption of eCommerce is quite good. It’s quite the right market. There’s all the infrastructure that you kind of need to set up a proper tech business. In terms of maturity within the tech ecosystem, Nigeria is probably one of the best markets in Africa, competing directly with Egypt, South Africa, and a couple of others,” said El-Said.