Egypt’s first unicorn and the rapidly growing fintech startup, , has successfully raised $130 million through a securitization, marking one of five such bond issuances this year. These efforts have collectively brought in over $400 million for the company. Founded in 2018, MNT-Halan’s mission is to provide digital banking services to the unbanked population and replace cash transactions with electronic alternatives. Its digital ecosystem encompasses services like lending to small and micro businesses, payment solutions, consumer finance, and e-commerce. MNT-Halan has garnered more than 1.5 million quarterly active users and has served over seven million customers in Egypt.
MNT-Halan has revealed that it secured five tranches of securitized bond issuances this year, with the latest amounting to $130 million through CI Capital. All of these issuances received strong demand and have pushed MNT-Halan’s valuation beyond $1 billion, granting it unicorn status. The company aims to raise an additional $150 million by the end of the year.
The company attributes the appetite for these issuances to the resilience of its business model, the high quality of its loan portfolio, and the strong repayment capacity of the underlying loans. The founder and CEO, Mounir Nakhla,
expressed confidence in the company’s underwriting quality, noting that their loan book of $650 million is growing at a rate of four to five percent month-over-month. MNT-Halan is enthusiastic about introducing new digital financial products in Egypt and other markets.
The securitizations have received ratings of Prime 1 for short-term tranches and varied between A and A+ for longer-term tranches by MERIS (Middle East Rating & Investor Service). Several regional and local financial institutions, including CIB, CI Capital, Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Al Baraka Bank, Arab African International Bank, and others, participated in these bond issuances.