Egyptian fintech startup MoneyHash has secured $5.2 million in a pre-Series A funding round, bringing its total funding to over $12 million since its launch in early 2021. The latest investment follows a $4.5 million seed round announced in February 2024. This funding aims to support the startup’s expansion efforts, targeting larger enterprises and deepening its foothold across the Middle East and Africa.

This funding round was led by Flourish Ventures, a global fintech investor, and included participation from Vision Ventures (Saudi Arabia), Arab Bank’s Xelerate, and Emurgo Kepple Ventures. Notably, Jason Gardner, founder and former CEO of Marqeta, contributed his first investment in the region, joined by existing backers such as GitHub founder Tom Preston-Werner and COTU Ventures.

MoneyHash plans to utilize the funding to enhance its payment orchestration platform, focusing on simplifying complex payment stacks for enterprises. The startup integrates multiple payment providers and gateways, offering a unified API, advanced transaction routing, fraud prevention, customizable checkout, and detailed analytics. With support for over 300 pre-integrated APIs, MoneyHash covers more than 100 markets, helping businesses optimize performance, reduce operational inefficiencies, and increase revenue generation.

Why the Investors Invested

MoneyHash’s ability to address a critical pain point in emerging markets likely motivated investors to back the startup. The fragmented nature of the payment ecosystem in the Middle East and Africa creates significant operational challenges for merchants. Payment orchestration platforms, like MoneyHash, simplify this complexity, enabling businesses to seamlessly manage pay-in and pay-out operations across diverse providers and currencies.

Key factors driving investor interest include:

• Market Opportunity: The Middle East and Africa represent a high-growth region for digital payments, where online transactions account for only a small fraction of total transaction volume. This untapped potential indicates massive scalability, making MoneyHash an attractive proposition for investors looking to capitalize on digital transformation in these regions.
• Proven Growth Metrics: Over the past year, MoneyHash reported a 4x increase in processing volume and a 3x rise in revenue, largely driven by its shift towards targeting enterprises. The inclusion of prominent clients such as BNPL unicorn Tamara, cloud kitchen leader Kitopi, and e-commerce platform Brands For Less underscores its operational success and scalability.
• Comprehensive Solution: Investors were likely drawn to MoneyHash’s holistic approach to solving payment challenges. Instead of focusing on isolated metrics, the platform enhances multiple performance parameters, including fraud prevention, conversion rates, and revenue optimization, meeting the comprehensive needs of enterprises.
• Strategic Leadership: The founders, Nader Abdelrazik and Mustafa Eid, bring years of experience in fintech and enterprise software. Their deep understanding of payment complexities and their ability to forge long-term enterprise contracts bolstered investor confidence.
• Prestigious Backers: The participation of high-profile investors like Jason Gardner and Tom Preston-Werner further validated MoneyHash’s potential, making it a compelling investment for institutional backers.

A Look at MoneyHash

Founded in early 2021 by Nader Abdelrazik and Mustafa Eid, MoneyHash is based in Egypt but operates across the Middle East and Africa. The startup specializes in “payment orchestration,” a solution that simplifies the integration and management of payment stacks for merchants.

MoneyHash initially catered to small merchants but pivoted in 2024 to target larger enterprises with the launch of its enterprise suite. This strategic move enabled the company to triple its enterprise client base, which now constitutes 35% of its customer portfolio. Its enterprise-focused offerings include tools for subscription management, recurring payments, and virtual wallets, alongside fraud prevention and failure rate optimization.

The platform boasts integrations with over 300 APIs, including international processors like Stripe, Adyen, and Checkout.com, as well as local players such as Fawry and ValU. This extensive network allows MoneyHash to operate seamlessly across more than 100 markets, offering unmatched flexibility to its clients.

The startup’s focus on emerging markets distinguishes it from global competitors like Payrails and Spreedly. With payment failure rates in its target regions three times higher than the global average and cart abandonment 20% above developed markets, MoneyHash’s solutions directly address critical bottlenecks faced by merchants.

By transforming payments from a liability to a strategic advantage, MoneyHash has positioned itself as a leader in payment orchestration in emerging markets. Its notable clientele and strategic shift towards enterprises signal its ambition to redefine the payment ecosystem across the Middle East and Africa.