MaxAB, the Egyptian B2B e-commerce and logistics startup that merged with Kenya’s Wasoko last year, has secured a new financial services license from the Central Bank of Egypt. The license allows the company to facilitate cash deposits and withdrawals via the MaxAB mobile application — extending financial inclusion tools to thousands of informal retailers.
This approval, issued in partnership with Banque Misr and the Egyptian Banks Company (EBC), cements MaxAB’s growing shift from pure-play e-commerce to a fintech-led model. Retailers using the app can now deposit or withdraw cash from any e-wallet, whether bank-issued or telecom-linked — an important milestone as the merged entity doubles down on embedded financial services as its next growth engine.
“This license reflects our commitment to delivering secure, accessible financial tools to our network of merchants,” said the company in a statement.
The development comes on the heels of MaxAB-Wasoko’s expanding fintech footprint across North and East Africa. In Egypt alone, the group’s financial services segment now generates over $180 million in annual turnover, with more than $20 million in digital working capital loans disbursed over the past 12 months. The company claims repayment rates of over 99%, buoyed by proprietary credit models that assess merchants based on their order histories.
“We’ve seen our fintech services in Egypt more than double in the past year,” said Daniel Yu, co-CEO of MaxAB-Wasoko and founder of Wasoko. “It’s become our strongest value driver and will remain our top priority across all markets for the next 12 months.”
The Central Bank license is just the latest move in a strategic overhaul playing out across the newly merged MaxAB-Wasoko footprint. In Morocco — one of its five core markets — the company is quietly restructuring, scaling back e-commerce services to focus entirely on fintech.
“Strategically, we are currently focusing our efforts on developing our fintech activities in Morocco and preparing for the launch of our marketplace,” said Othmane Benzakour, CEO of MaxAB’s Moroccan subsidiaries, ABmaxCo and MaxPay. “During this transition phase, we have decided to slow down our e-commerce activities.”
This pivot reflects broader recalibrations inside the merged group, which spans Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Rwanda, and Tanzania. Since the high-profile merger in 2024 — executed via an all-stock transaction with no fresh capital — MaxAB-Wasoko has centered its operations around financial services, betting that credit-led offerings will outperform traditional inventory-heavy e-commerce.
Fintech as a Survival Strategy
The group’s recent acquisition of Fatura, a Cairo-based fintech-enabled marketplace, reinforces this strategy. Backed by regional investment giant EFG Holding, the deal allows EFG Finance — EFG’s venture capital arm — to take an equity stake and board seat at MaxAB-Wasoko.
With over 600 wholesalers operating across 16 Egyptian cities, Fatura brings with it not only a scaled B2B network but also embedded lending infrastructure that fits neatly into MaxAB’s supply chain model. Analysts expect the acquisition to contribute up to 25% of the group’s Egypt-based revenue by the end of the fiscal year.
EFG Finance’s CEO, Aladdin ElAfifi, described the transaction as a “transformational step” toward digitizing informal retail in Egypt. “By combining supply chain data with credit tools, we’re building a new standard for SME financing in underserved markets,” he said.
Despite bullish internal projections, external investor sentiment remains conservative. In Q1 2025, Swedish VC firm VNV Global — an early Wasoko backer — marked down the value of its 2.1% stake by 4%, to $10 million. While the markdown is modest, it reflects either decelerating topline performance or broader caution around the B2B e-commerce space, where venture enthusiasm has cooled amid profitability concerns.
“Fundamentally, e-commerce in Africa remains a low-margin, high-capex game,” our analyst notes. “Fintech offers cleaner economics — recurring revenue, lower burn, and tighter operational cycles.”
Indeed, while MaxAB-Wasoko claims profitability in three of its five operating markets, the fintech unit is emerging as the group’s most scalable and margin-rich business line. The company now processes over $15 million monthly in digital credit flows and has hinted at further rollouts of buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services and merchant savings products.
MaxAB-Wasoko’s fintech-led strategy echoes similar realignments across Africa’s B2B ecosystem. Nigeria’s Sabi recently laid off 20% of its staff and announced a pivot towards commodity exports and traceability technology via its TRACE platform. In parallel, OmniRetail — another Nigerian player — has embedded OmniPay, a digital credit product processing $95 million monthly, into its distribution model. The result? Breakeven EBIT and net contribution margins of 5%, according to investor reports.
With 450,000 merchants on its platform and over $230 million in combined funding, MaxAB-Wasoko is now betting its future on fintech. The latest licensing milestone in Egypt, and operational refocus in Morocco, suggest that digital financial services — not logistics — will define the company’s next chapter.
“Financial inclusion is no longer just a mission — it’s a business model,” said Yu. “And for the informal economy, we’re just getting started.”