The investment round attracted backers including, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) which committed $40 million.

Other participants were Development Partners International, Lorax Capital Partners, funds managed by Apis Partners LLP, Lunate, and GB Corp.

MNT-Halan is leveraging the fresh capital to acquire Tam Finans, a Turkish fintech specialising in microfinance and SME lending.

With this, the Egyptian company is entering into the Turkish market, aligning with its vision to broaden its reach beyond its home turf.

Tam Finans has a 40% market share in Turkey, operating 39 branches across 26 cities, and its acquisition will create an entity with a loan portfolio nearing $1 billion.

Founded in 2018, MNT-Halan has rapidly grown its fintech ecosystem, serving over 7 million customers in Egypt.

It offers a variety of services including business and consumer loans, prepaid cards, e-wallets, and e-commerce solutions.

The company recently launched a super app to consolidate these offerings, drawing inspiration from successful models like Nubank.

Mounir Nakhla, MNT-Halan’s CEO, emphasises the prospects of the Turkish market, noting its huge unbanked population and economic opportunities.

The acquisition of Tam Finans is part of MNT-Halan’s plans to leverage its technological capabilities and expand its footprint.

Nakhla revealed plans to introduce factoring services in late 2024, complementing the company’s existing lending operations.

The company has disbursed over $4.5 billion in loans to date and achieved great revenue growth, with projections to reach between $500-600 million in revenues by 2024.

This expansion follows MNT-Halan’s recent entry into Pakistan, where it acquired a microfinance bank, and indicates its continued pursuit of international growth.

MNT-Halan received over $200 million in equity in exchange for over 20% of the company from Chimera Abu Dhabi. In addition, the company is in advanced stages with leading international investors to raise $60 million of primary capital. Following the completion of these investments, MNT-Halan’s valuation will exceed $1 billion. 

The company also announced two securitizations totaling $140 million through subsidiaries Tasaheel Microfinance Company (Tasaheel) and Halan Consumer Finance (Halan) with Commercial International Bank (CIB), Egypt’s largest private sector bank. Tasaheel has securitized $100 million of its loan book in the second issuance of its securitization program.

These investments demonstrate continued confidence in MNT-Halan’s value proposition, management team and superior technology, and will also enable international growth. This funding follows a $120 million investment in Q3 2021 by other major global and regional growth investors, including Development Partners International (DPI), Apis Growth Fund II, and Lorax Capital Partners.

Committed to bringing seamless financial services to the unbanked and underbanked customers in Egypt and the surrounding region, MNT-Halan’s digital ecosystem includes business loans, consumer finance, payments and e-commerce, all of which are backed by Neuron, the company’s proprietary technology.

Seif Fikry, CEO of Chimera Abu Dhabi, said, “We are thrilled to be part of Egypt’s greatest fintech success story. MNT-Halan’s upward trajectory and momentum reflect the management team’s realization of its extraordinary vision to transform a high touch business by seamlessly infusing an unparalleled proprietary tech platform while increasing product depth for its target customer segment.”

MNT-Halan Founder and CEO, Mounir Nakhla, added, “As one of the region’s premier and most progressive investors, Chimera Abu Dhabi brings a unique and dedicated understanding of our business. Having the backing of Chimera Abu Dhabi is of significant support to the execution of our strategy. 

The timing of the transaction is also a testament to our ability to significantly increase our revenues and open new revenue streams while growing our bottom line, despite the macro-economic situation. I am excited for what lies ahead as we continue to grow both organically and inorganically by offering cutting-edge financial products and services locally and internationally to empower the underserved.”

Halan Consumer Finance has securitized $40 million of its loan book in its first securitization since its start of operations in 2021. Both issuances were over-subscribed. The offerings reflect the high quality, diversity, and granularity of the combined securitized loan books, consisting of 246,000 contracts and a robust cash pay-back ability. The proceeds will fuel the company’s growing loan book, considering the increasing demand in light of the current inflationary environment. 

MNT-Halan has capacity to further securitize up to $250 million in its securitization program. Both securitizations are divided into four tranches, each of which have been rated Prime 1 for the first three and A for the fourth by MERIS (Middle East Rating & Investor Service). 

In addition to CIB, participating regional and local financial institutions included Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Al Baraka Bank, Arab Africa International Bank, Agricultural Bank of Egypt, ABC Bank, NI Capital, National Bank of Egypt and the Housing and Development Bank.

White & Case, Shearman and Sterling, Lexence, and Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy served as legal advisors on the investment transactions. CIB served as financial advisor and general arranger of the securitizations with National Bank of Egypt serving as co-financial advisor and underwriter. 

Arab Africa International Bank and NI Capital served as underwriters. Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy served as legal advisors on the securitizations. Eterna Partners served as communications advisors.