On Tuesday, Flend, Egypt’s first fully digital lending platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), announced the successful closure of a $3 million seed funding round.
This milestone marks a significant shift in tackling Egypt’s $50 billion SME financing gap by embracing digital technology to provide easier access to capital.
$3 million seed funding to expand digital SME lending
The $3 million seed round came through equity and debt financing.
Egypt Ventures led the equity portion alongside Camel Ventures, Sukna Ventures, Plus VC, Banque Misr, and notable family offices including El Sewedy and Baalbaki.
MSMEDA coordinated debt funding with support from local banks.
Flend’s CEO and Co-Founder, Ahmed Zaki, said, “This funding round allows us to finance SMEs where they do business, within the platforms that drive Egypt’s economy.
We’ve seen rising demand and are ready to scale our reach.” Flend plans to inject one billion Egyptian pounds (approximately $54 million) into SME working capital loans within the following year.
Fully digital lending platform with embedded finance
Flend is licensed by Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) as a Digital Non-Banking Financial Institution (Digital NBFI), which enables it to offer fully digital short-term working capital loans.
All processes are conducted online with legally binding digital contracts and e-signatures, from onboarding and credit scoring to disbursement and collections.
The platform integrates seamlessly with over 20 digital supply chain ecosystems across agri-food, e-commerce, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail sectors.
This embedded finance approach reduces borrowing friction and acquisition costs while leveraging platform data for improved credit decisions.
Hasan Haider, founder of Plus VC, praised Flend’s work: “Flend is solving a major regional challenge—making SME finance digital-first, embedded, and accessible.”
Abdelrahman Mansour, CEO of Egypt Ventures, also highlighted the importance of easing access to finance for SMEs to unlock value across industries.
With this latest funding, Flend aims to scale its impact rapidly, supporting Egypt’s SME sector growth through technology-driven finance tailored to meet entrepreneurs where they operate.