EFG Finance, the non-bank financial services arm of Cairo-based investment bank EFG Holding, has acquired a majority stake in Balad, the first licensed remittance aggregator in Egypt, the companies have announced. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The transaction hands control of the start-up to one of Egypt’s largest financial groups and marks a new phase for a company that won the first regulatory approval of its kind from the Central Bank of Egypt in early 2025. Balad, founded in 2022, operates a platform that connects international money transfer operators and fintech aggregators to a domestic payout network spanning bank accounts, mobile wallets and cash pick-up points.
Adham Azzam, co-founder and chief executive of Balad, said the backing of EFG Finance would provide “institutional capacity, a powerful financial-services ecosystem and the patience to build properly”. He added that Egypt received a record $41.5bn in remittances from its diaspora in 2025, making it Africa’s largest remittance market and accounting for more than a third of all flows to the continent.
“Egyptians abroad should be able not only to send money home, but also to pay for education and healthcare, save, invest, buy a home and prepare for their return,” Azzam said. “Balad’s mission is to build the infrastructure that makes this possible. We want to build the bridge that enables the ecosystem to deliver these services.”
The investment embeds Balad inside a group that already operates in leasing, factoring, microfinance and fintech, and that can offer the start-up a broader distribution platform. EFG Finance chief executive Aladdin ElAfifi did not publicly comment, but Azzam described EFG Holding as backing the “original vision: world-class infrastructure connecting Egypt’s financial system with Egyptians everywhere”.
Balad’s earlier investors, including First Circle Capital, Acasia Ventures and Sunny Side Venture Partners, will retain minority stakes. The company had previously raised a seven-figure US dollar pre-seed round in 2023 led by Acasia Ventures, alongside Launch Africa Ventures, Future Africa and others.
The deal is the latest sign that Egypt’s remittance market — long dominated by Western Union, MoneyGram and Ria — is drawing homegrown institutional capital. In February 2025, Balad went live as the country’s first aggregator after winning central bank approval, a move that tested whether an Egyptian start-up could insert itself into a tightly regulated value chain. The central bank has been steering remittances through a more centralised model, integrating international transfers into the national instant payment system InstaPay, which critics say strengthens banks’ grip on the market.
Azzam acknowledged that building the service required regulation, banking, technology and operations to “all move together”, and said the company had never accepted “not possible as an answer”. He praised the central bank for engaging “as aggregation emerged as a new service” and granting Balad the first licence of its kind.
The start-up’s long-term bet is that remittances should be the beginning of a lasting financial relationship between Egyptians abroad and the home country, not simply a one-off transfer. Whether Balad can turn that vision into a viable business at scale, and whether it can withstand competition from entrenched international players and a regulatory landscape that frequently shifts, remains to be seen. With EFG Finance now in control, the venture has deeper pockets and stronger local relationships — but it also faces the weight of expectations that come with being the first mover in a market still dominated by incumbents.