The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will invest $5 million in Egypt’s venture capital fund Disruptech, to support the development of fintech startups.

Disruptech, which aims to provide seed capital for up to 25 startups, was founded in 2020 by Mohamed Okasha, co-founder and former managing director of Egypt’s FinTech firm Fawry.

So far, the fund has raised $ 25 million from several investors, and has invested in seven companies. Besides capital, the fund provides mentorship and advice to young entrepreneurs.

"Egypt is full of bright, talented founders but too often, they cannot secure the capital they need to expand their businesses," said Okasha, Managing Partner from Disruptech Ventures. "This fund is designed to change that, and support the development of Egypt's fintech/fintech-enabled sector."

IFC's investment in Disruptech is part of IFC's Startup Catalyst, a program through which equity and quasi-equity investments are made in incubators, accelerators and seed-funds in emerging markets.

Although the amount of venture capital available in Egypt has grown more than ten folds since 2016, it remains far below the average in other emerging markets, the statement said.

The IFC investments in Egypt have reached $1.2 billion in January 2022. In the last two years alone, the IFC have committed and invested nearly $ 720 million to support the country’s private sector in the midst of the pandemic, according to the statement.

(Reporting by Noha El Hennawy, editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com)