Egypt-based Paymob, the financial services enabler in the MENA region, has announced a $22 million Series B extension round, bringing the company’s total Series B funding to $72 million.
EBRD Venture Capital led the extension round, which also saw participation from Endeavor Catalyst and existing investors BII, A15, Helios Digital Ventures, and Nclude.
The GCC expansion was spurred by Paymob’s initial Series B round in 2022 – which raised $50 million – and was led by Kora Capital, PayPal Ventures, and Clay Point. The investment enabled Paymob to launch its app in 2023 and grow its merchant base across MENA by 3.5x to serve nearly 350,000 merchants.
Paymob has also grown its acceptance suite to 50 payment methods delivered via its gateway, POS terminals and Paymob app – making it the most comprehensive offering on the market. Paymob recently launched embedded checkout experiences on e-commerce platforms Shopify and WooCommerce as it continues to deliver on its commitment to power regional SME growth.
Islam Shawky, Co-founder and CEO of Paymob, commented, “We are very excited by our strong prospects in Egypt – where we hold a market-leading position – and the significant traction experienced in the UAE since launching operations there. This funding will help Paymob fully capitalize on the momentum in our established markets, as we accelerate our GCC roll-out. We remain committed to creating a cutting-edge infrastructure enabling SMEs across the region to thrive in the digital economy and are proud of our continued impact.”
The extension round follows Paymob’s continued profitability in its core market of Egypt, where it has recorded 6x revenue growth since the initial Series B funding in Q2 2022. The Company’s strong financial position and Series B extension proceeds mean it has ample resources to pursue its growth strategy across MENA.
Bruno Lusic of EBRD Venture Capital added in the note, “We are extremely excited to support Paymob as it embarks on the next chapter in its journey to create a market-leading, omni-channel, and multi-jurisdiction payment solutions provider in the MENA region. The payments landscape in Egypt and the broader MENA region is hugely exciting, and the economy is seeing rapid growth as it transitions to non-cash payment methods. We are convinced that Paymob is uniquely positioned tocapitalise on that trend with its advanced technology and strong management team.”
The Company remains focused on expanding its market lead in Egypt, while scaling operations in newer penetrated markets to reinforce its position as the leading payments provider in the region.
Allen Taylor, Managing Partner at Endeavor Catalyst, stated in a press note “At Endeavor, we have witnessed fintech in the Middle East gain increasing global attention. Building on this momentum, we are thrilled to support entrepreneurs Islam Shawky, Alain El Hajj, and Mostafa Menessy in this new round of regional expansion for Paymob, advancing their goals of enabling businesses to thrive in the digital economy. Since their selection as Endeavor Entrepreneurs in 2022, we have been dedicated to supporting their growth and are excited to see their journey unfold further.”
