Telda raises $20 million from Sequoia to revolutionize finance for the MENAP region

Telda, an Egyptian consumer money app founded by Ahmed Sabbah, former co-founder of Swvl has raised $20 million in seed funding led by GFC, Sequoia Capital and Block.

Launched last year, the startup closed a $5 million pre-seed round after just one month of operations, and bagged a fintech license from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to issue cards and onboard customers digitally.

After a year of limited activities due to some pending regulatory issues, Telda eventually secured the necessary approval from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to launch a consumer money and payment app and a Mastercard-powered card to the public.

Telda claims that it has onboarded 25,000 cards so far and has a waiting list of 110,000 customers who have ordered their cards. The startup says it wants to “change the way people feel about and interact with their finances in this part of the world: from money transfers to online/offline purchases to saving habits.”

Egypt, its primary market constitutes one of the highest consumer spendings in Africa. According to CEIC Data, private consumption in the country accounts for nearly 85% of its nominal GDP, and only 4% of its overall GDP is cashless.

Card usage is still low in the heavily cash-reliant society, but startups like Telda are hoping to disrupt the sector with their card and fintech products.