Fintech Galaxy's Innovation Challenge winners further Central Bank of Egypt's drive towards financial inclusion

• Fintech Innovation Challenges were held in partnership with National Bank of Egypt, Emirates NBD S.A.E, and Commercial International Bank - Egypt

Egypt: Fintech Galaxy, the MENA region’s only fintech digital crowdsourcing platform, has announced “Dor-e”, “Token Inc” and “Quantafic Business Solutions”, as the winners of the latest series of Innovation Challenges for use cases defined by National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Emirates NBD S.A.E, and Commercial International Bank – Egypt respectively. The winning startups will work with the banks on implementing their solutions, with the possibility of a Proof of Concept (PoC) and a full-fledged implementation. The challenges reflect the growing efforts to support the Central Bank of Egypt’s innovation agenda which includes promoting financial inclusion in the country.

With a population of over 100 million, the World Bank estimates that the share of people aged 15 and over with an account at a financial institution rose from 13.7 per cent in 2014 to 33 per cent in 2017 – that compares with well above 90 per cent in advanced economies. However, with a mobile penetration rate of around 110 per cent and more than 30 million internet users, fintech provides tremendous opportunities for the unbanked, and progress is already underway.

In 2018, Egypt ranked fifth as a recipient of remittances with over USD29 billion. Additionally, the Egyptian bill payment market is expected to register high growth rates, with increasing penetration of cashless transaction methods primarily being driven by a stronger regulatory framework, increased mobile usage, and frequent collaboration between the government and financial institutions.

Quantafic Business Solutions, a banking and financial services focused analytic and software solutions company from India won the challenge with Commercial International Bank – Egypt, who sought a digital lending solution, integrated with I-Score, that enables credit assessment and underwriting through AI and machine learning of transaction behaviors and unconventional data that covers end-to-end process of onboarding, disbursement & collection of loans. The technology will help the bank meet the customers and merchants’ needs in their day-to-day activities and support their business growth plans, a step closer towards achieving financial inclusion.

National Bank of Egypt, NBE, sought AI-powered solutions that could be used to reinvent how it delivers customer experience. The solution needed to identify customer needs proactively with the ability to measure customer satisfaction at each touch point. Following which, through analysis, the solution would help identify pain points and recommended handling across the different touch points and channels – criteria which was exceeded by Dor-e from Egypt, an intelligent virtual queuing system that streamlines customer traffic and load balances workload while providing smart analytics and data. The winner will get an EGP 100,000 cash reward and the opportunity to work with NBE on a prototype for implementing AI in customer experience.

The Egyptian operation of UAE’s Emirates NBD sought an innovative solution that enables cross-border payments and wallet transactions to happen instantly increasing customer satisfaction, growth in number of transactions and volume of money transferred across different countries while overcoming the challenges of current operational systems limitations, slow processing of transactions, and compliance to regulations of data privacy. Through its innovative technology, Token Inc., a company from the United States of America that supplies software to banks and central banks to enables them to issue digital money, won the challenge and a cash reward of USD5,000.  

“Fintech Galaxy strongly believes in the Egyptian economy, and the potential of FinTech to drive its growth. We are proud to support the Central Bank’s initiatives to drive financial inclusion through our innovation challenges, and we look forward to supporting these young entrepreneurs through their journey, from inspiration to global growth.” commented Mirna Sleiman, Founder & CEO, Fintech Galaxy.  

“National Bank of Egypt gives great support to start-ups entrepreneurs as they are perceived as essential partners in light of the fast-paced technological transformation sweeping through the banking sector, supporting  banks to meet the dynamic needs and changing customers preferences, target an expanding customer base and new customer segments in an era where customer experience is of primary importance , which is the context of the solution NBE is supporting through this innovation challenge” commented Hesham Ahmed Okasha, Chairman, National Bank of Egypt

“National Bank of Egypt plays a major role in digital transformation and e-payments in the Egyptian market, as part of the Bank's strategy focuses on coping with global technological developments in the field of banking and Fintech services and supporting Egypt's strategic direction towards the financial inclusion initiatives. In this context, NBE inaugurated four electronic service branches for the first time in Egypt to encourage customers to use digital banking services via alternative channels without human assistance. The bank also launched the second phase of Al-Ahly Net services and witnessed a growing increase in e-commerce transactions overcoming all the obstacles that hinder extending the relevant services. Moreover, the Bank also developed new financial features available through Phone Cash wallets to reach a higher population of underbanked customers. ” 

Mohammed Berro, Chief Executive Officer, Emirates NBD S.A.E. commented: “I’d like to offer my warmest congratulations to the winners of the Innovation Challenge and express the intent of Emirates NBD Egypt to continue supporting local start-ups to empower entrepreneurship in the community and redefine the future of e-banking. We are not only dedicated to achieving the objectives laid out by the Egyptian government, but the objectives we have set for ourselves regarding the implementation of innovation as a way to increase customer satisfaction and facilitate positive change in the banking landscape. Emirates NBD Egypt is currently invested in bolstering our wireless transaction services by optimizing the volume and speed in which international transfers are made in addition to assuring that all operations comply with the regulations regarding data privacy.”

Mohamed Farag, Chief Global Transaction & Digital Banking Officer, Commercial International Bank commented that “As part of CIB's strategy to drive financial inclusion throughout Egypt, we channel significant energy and investment into fintech innovation and, in turn, the transformation of the entirety of the banking sector from traditional brick-and-mortar channels to digital solutions. As such, we welcome the participation in these kinds of landmark milestones for the digital finance sphere to seek out exciting potential startups that complement our current value proposition and expand our reach to more and more unbanked segments to achieve financial inclusion.”

Fintech Galaxy works as an open innovation marketplace for organizations to post their innovation challenges, inviting a global network of startups to take a crack at solving them. The company advises startups on fundraising, operational growth and business development. The platform also brings to the market a virtual marketplace of on-demand fintech experts in areas like blockchain, artificial intelligence, mobile payments, robotics and data science.

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About Fintech Galaxy

Fintech Galaxy is a digital crowdsourcing platform that empowers fintech entrepreneurs and connects them to financial institutions, consultants, tech companies, mentors and investors.

Fintech Galaxy works as an open innovation marketplace for organizations based in the MENA region to post challenges for our global network of startups to take a crack at solving them in order to gain business contracts or cash rewards. The company advises startups on fund raising, operational growth and business development. The platform also brings to the MENA market a network of global fintech experts in areas like blockchain, AI, payments, robotics and data science. 

With a wealth of content and a virtual gallery of the best success case studies in the financial technology space, Fintech Galaxy supports the world’s most promising entrepreneurs throughout their journey from inspiration to global growth. Sign up on www.fintech-galaxy.com and join us on our journey! 

About National Bank of Egypt 

National Bank of Egypt is the oldest and largest bank in the Egyptian market, where it was established in 1898 with a trade register number 1. The bank has a large network of branches of more than 465 branches that covers all the Egyptian governorates, in addition to a wide network of ATM exceeding 4057 machines, with a strong and effective international presence worldwide through branches and representative offices and correspondents.

National Bank of Egypt has more than 20 thousand employees of the best technical and managerial competencies in the Egyptian banking sector who are continuously trained on the latest methods and banking techniques worldwide.

About Emirates NBD – Egypt 

Emirates NBD - Egypt is a wholly owned subsidiary of Emirates NBD Group, a leading banking group in the Middle East and a major contributor to the national and international banking industry. Emirates NBD Egypt is one of the largest banks operating in Egypt with a paid capital of LE 1,700 million by the end of the financial period on December 30th 2018. The bank is also a pioneer in providing advanced digital banking services, supported by a large network of 73 branches, and a total of 1999 employees. The bank has more than 200 ATMs covering all parts of the country.

Emirates NBD - Egypt is considered the main player in the field of financing major projects related to the country's infrastructure and development initiatives, which led to the receipt of many awards, including three major awards from the largest banking institution in Africa; The Banker Africa. These awards included the premier retail bank and the most innovative bank. In addition, they were also crowned the best bank in digital banking, as well as being awarded the AJ Global Award for the best transport deal in the Middle East and North Africa to finance the capacity building project at Cairo International Airport. The Bank also won the Best Bank Award in Egypt in 2017 granted by the magazine "International Finance".

For more information, visit www.emiratesnbd.com.eg 

About Commercial International Bank – Egypt

Established in 1975, Commercial International Bank (CIB) is Egypt’s leading private-sector bank. Each of CIB’s 6,750 employees is dedicated to achieving the bank’s mission: providing its broad customer base with innovative solutions and services to meet their needs. Through its well-established network of over 200 branches and technologically advanced digital channels, CIB serves individuals, households, high-net-worth individuals, large corporations, and small businesses.

CIB has consistently been ranked as the most profitable bank in Egypt and the bank of choice for over 500 of Egypt’s largest corporations, as reflected in notable international awards for its performance. In 2018, CIB was the first bank in the MENA region to be named the World’s Best Bank in Emerging Markets by Global Finance, one year after it was awarded the same title by Euromoney. Most recently, CIB was recognized for its 2018 record performance by Global Finance, EMEA Finance, Euromoney, and Asian Banker. The Bank is the first organization in the Middle East to be the focus of a case study conducted by one of the top five business schools worldwide; the London Business School. In 2019, Bloomberg included CIB in its Gender Equality Index, one of the world’s most comprehensive investment-quality data sources on gender equality. CIB is the first company in the Arab world and Africa to be listed on the index, which includes 230 companies from 36 countries across ten sectors.

CIB defines corporate social responsibility in Egypt. Its initiatives and programs, that span fine arts, music, social care, sports, and protection of the environment, have a profound impact on the lives of the communities in which it operates by encouraging active participation in society and nurturing talent of the youth population. Development programs reach deep into the community and include numerous activities for those with special needs. Through the CIB Foundation, the bank has significantly improved the lives of thousands of children by providing healthcare services to some of Egypt’s most vulnerable communities.

CIB has a long-standing and extensive relationship with the country’s squash community, having sponsored the Egyptian Squash Federation since 2011. In 2018, the Bank expanded its commitment to the sport by supporting the National Women’s and Junior Squash Teams, which have won several international championships. CIB is a direct sponsor of several top-ranked Egyptian players and is a partner of several organizations that train the next generation of athletes. CIB is also a co-sponsor of the Black Ball Open, a PSA World Tour event held in Cairo.

For further information about CIB products and services, please visit www.cibeg.com  | Facebook: www.facebook.com/CIBEgypt  | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cibegypt  | YouTube: www.youtube.com/CIBEgypt  

© Press Release 2019