Egypt-based fintech Flend has secured $3 million in a blended equity and debt seed funding round. The equity portion was led by Egypt Ventures, with participation from Camel Ventures, Sukna Ventures, Plus VC, Banque Misr, and family offices including El Sewedy and Baalbaki. Debt financing came from MSMEDA and local banks.
Founded by Ahmed Zaki, Nehal Helmy, and Saif Edeen El Bendari, Flend is licensed by Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) as a Digital Non-Banking Financial Institution (Digital NBFI). It offers fully digital short-term working capital loans to SMEs via embedded finance and direct integration with 20+ supply chain platforms across sectors such as agri-food, e-commerce, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and export.
The funding will support Flend’s plan to disburse EGP 1 billion in SME loans within a year, expand its team and partnerships, and enhance its technology infrastructure to address Egypt’s $50 billion SME financing gap.
Ahmed Zaki, Flend’s CEO, stated, “This round allows us to finance SMEs where they do business—within the platforms that drive Egypt’s economy. We’ve seen rising demand and are ready to scale our reach.”
Hasan Haider, Founder of Plus VC, added, “Flend is solving a major regional challenge—making SME finance digital-first, embedded, and accessible.”
