Egyptian Digital Bank Telda, Lands $5mn Pre-seed Funding Round From Sequoia Capital
The game for who becomes Egypt’s next category king after Fawry is on, and in a fierce fashion. Barely a month after Flextock, a Cairo-based fintech raised $3.75 million and claimed Egypt’s largest preseed, Telda, an Egyptian digital bank aimed at Generation Z has displaced it. The startup has not only secured a $5m pre-seed round of funding but has got the backing of some of the world’s leading investors, including that of the California-based venture capital firm, Sequoia Capital.
Although Sequoia Capital led the round, the investment also saw the participation of US venture capital firms, Global Founders Capital, and Class 5 Global.
The investment is Sequoia Capital’s first in the Middle East and North Africa. It is also the first investment in any Egyptian startup for Global Founders Capital and Class 5 Global. Last year, Sequoia Capital participated in Cameroonian startup, Healthlane’s $2.4m fundraisings. The startup will use the funding to launch its new products and grow the business.
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What You Need To Know About Telda
Telda was founded a little over a month ago by Swvl’s co-founder and former CTO Ahmed Sabbah and Youssef Sholqamy, who was previously a senior engineer with Uber’s infrastructure team. The startup is Egypt’s first digital bank.
Users may create a Telda account entirely online, using only their phone number and national ID number. Telda’s account comes with a Mastercard-powered card that can be used for online payments, in-store transactions, which cash withdrawals (and can be requested from the app). Users may use the IBAN that they earn for their digital account on Telda to receive money from anyone in Egypt and beyond. The startup is aiming at Gen Z in the whole of the Middle East, starting with Egypt.
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