The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting the digital transition in Egypt through its equity investment in Paymob as part of a US$ 22 million financing round.  The investment was led by the EBRD, along with participation from existing investors: British International Investment (BII), Global Ventures, A15, FMO, PayPal Ventures and Endeavor Catalyst.

Paymob is the leading digital payment processing company in the country offering online payments, digital wallets and value-added services (advanced settlement, digital onboarding, SaaS book-keeping) for small and medium-sized enterprises. The company recently expanded into Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with the aim of becoming the leading digital payments company in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The Bank’s investment will support Paymob’s product development and sales and marketing activities, accelerating growth in Egypt and supporting international expansion.

The EBRD’s participation is part of its Venture Capital Investment Programme, which backs early and growth-stage technology companies via equity and equity-linked instruments. The programme’s overarching objectives are to develop and commercialise innovative technology and draw in top venture capital funds to the EBRD regions, where the availability of venture capital remains very low and venture capital systems are still nascent.

The EBRD puts a digital focus at the heart of its activities across its regions – be it in investments, policy engagement or advisory services – and aims to play a leading role in shaping the impact of digitalisation.

Egypt is a founding member of the EBRD. Since the start of its operations there in 2012, the Bank has invested €12.2 billion in 187 projects in the country. The EBRD’s areas of investment in Egypt include the financial sector, agribusiness, and manufacturing and services, as well as infrastructure projects such as power, municipal water and wastewater services, and contributions to the upgrade of transport services‎