Egypt’s First Banking App Telda Secures $5 Million in Pre-Seed Funding

Egypt’s first digital banking app, Telda, has secured a hefty $5 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from Global Founders Capital and Class 5 Global. This marks the first investment in the MENA region for Sequoia Capital, and the first Egyptian investment from Global Founders Capital and Class 5 Global.

Telda issues cards that its customers can use in conjunction with the app, and the digital banking app gives users a centralised platform for payments, allowing the payment of all bills by phone. Users can also receive and transfer money instantly and for free, as well as withdraw cash from any ATM in the world.

Only 40 percent of people in the MENA region have access to a bank account, but digital banking gives the opportunity to make it more accessible. Telda CTO Youssef Sholqamy announced in a press statement that “today’s funding milestone promotes the digital transformation of the Egyptian economy and allows Telda to provide everyone with access to important financial services so they can fully participate in the economy.”

Signifying a digital banking milestone, the app becomes the first company licensed by the Central Bank of Egypt to issue its own card since the new Banking Agents regulations .