Egypt’s fintech Balad has raised a seven-figure pre-Seed round led by Acasia Ventures. Other investors in the round included Launch Africa, Future Africa, V&R, Magic Fund, First Circle, Sunny Side, and several family offices. This is the fintech’s first funding round.
Founded in 2022 by Adham Azzam, Sally Asaad and Mohamed Assem, Balad is a remittance-driven financial service provider with reduced transfer fees and instant delivery of inward remittances via Balad prepaid cards.
The investment will be used to launch Balad’s remittance platform, develop its technology, hire new team members, obtain required licences, and complete integrations with its banking partner.
Balad’s founders aim to break down financial barriers for this segment by simplifying digital remittances for migrants and their families, allowing recipients instant access to transferred funds at lower fees and starting them off on their journey of digital finance. Their vision aligns with the UN’s 10th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), which calls for reducing the global average fee for remittances from 7% to 3% within a decade and improving the financial inclusion of excluded communities.
Balad’s well-rounded founding team has an extensive background in the investment, technology, and financial sectors. Azzam has been a successful entrepreneur in Egypt and the UAE for the past five years and has worked in the financing and investment sector for 15 years in organizations such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and various European institutions. Asaad spent 17 years at Commercial International Bank (CIB), where she led innovation management and fintech and startup partnerships, among other roles. Assem has over 20 years of experience in software engineering and technical management across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and has led technology teams in several Egyptian fintech companies.
“Acasia Ventures has been an instrumental lead investor for our pre-seed round, as it supported the founders from the start and facilitated our access to other funding partners,” Azzam said. “We are excited to leverage Acasia Ventures’ expertise, African connections and synergies with its portfolio companies.”
“Balad is led by a seasoned executive team that has demonstrated its ability to bring such a vital product to the market,” Acasia Ventures Managing Partner Aly El Shalakany said. “Its offering is very unique and distinctive in that it provides remittance receivers with a quick and cheap solution to financial access, broadening the umbrella of financial inclusion across Egypt and the GCC.”
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