Cairo-based fintech company, Lucky, has raised $ 25 million in a series-A funding, led by Nclude fund, which was recently launched by Egypt’s largest national banks and Global Ventures.

PayU, the Prosus-owned fintech firm specializing in emerging markets; Endeavor Catalyst, Venture Souq, Oman Technology Fund, Arzan Capital and Disruptech Ventures also contributed to the funding round.

Founded in 2018, Lucky app gives users access to credit products, discounts and cash back rewards. In a statement to the media, the company said it has witnessed a 250 percent year-on-year growth in gross merchandise value and has secured more than eight million active users and a merchant network of over 30,000 stores.

Last year, the company had ventured beyond Egypt’s borders by launching in Morocco.

“The MENA region’s huge unbanked, young population and cash-dominated economy is a significant market opportunity for us,” Momtaz Moussa, Lucy CEO and founder, said. 

The recent round brings the total funds raised by Lucky to $45 million. The fresh funds are expected to be used to enhance the company’s credit capabilities and build its market leadership position, the company said in a statement.

In recent years, Egypt’s CBE had approved a set of regulations to promote the fintech industry, as a result of which fintech startups increased from only two in 2014 to 112 by the end of 2021, according to a report by FinTech Egypt, a CBE-sponsored platform connecting fintech startups.

Venture capital investments in fintech jumped from around $1 million raised in three deals in 2017 to over $159 million invested in 32 fintech deals, the report noted.

(Writing by Noha El Hennawy; editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaira@lseg.com)