Blnk, an Egyptian buy now, pay later (BNPL) startup, has raised $23.7 million in equity and debt funding and a further $8.3 million via securitized bond issuance.
The capital will be used to increase Blnk’s lending capacity and to support the development of its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered lending technology, according to a Wednesday (Nov. 9) press release.
Launched last year, Blnk has developed a digital platform that allows merchants to offer their customers credit with approval in as little as three minutes. Consumers can access credit to purchase a wide range of products or services, paying over installments ranging from six to 36 months.
“Our mission is to make it easier for more Egyptians to purchase the products and services they desire by offering inclusive and convenient consumer credit at the point of sale,” Blnk Co-founder and CEO Amr Sultan said in the release. “…we believe we can drive financial inclusion in Egypt, as well as the wider Middle East and North Africa region.”
Abu Dhabi’s Emirates International Investment Company (EIIC) and Egypt-based venture capital firm Sawari Ventures provided $12.5 million of equity funding alongside other investors. Egyptian banks provided a further $11.2 million in debt funding, while the $8.3 million bond issuance was underwritten by National Bank of Egypt and Banque du Caire, the release stated.
In recent months, in-store BNPL solutions have been gathering steam in Egypt with companies like Tabby and One Finance also getting in on the action.
Read more: FinTech One Finance Debuts BNPL Solution In Egypt
Tabby, for example, partnered with payments facilitator Paymob in September to let online and brick-and-mortar merchants using Paymob’s network offer Tabby’s BNPL solution.
Tabby launched in Egypt in September to serve the growing number of shoppers in the country who are using eCommerce.
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