Egyptian fintech founder Ashraf Sabry loses $1.4 million from Fawry stake in 38 days

Egyptian multimillionaire founder Ashraf Sabry has lost over $1.4 million from his stake in Fawry, Egypt’s leading payment platform, in recent times, as shares in the fintech company have dropped by double digits.

Data gathered by Billionaires.Africa revealed that the market value of his stake in Fawry has risen by EGP25.62 million ($1.402 million) in the past 38 days, owing to the renewed bearish sentiment on the Egyptian Exchange as investors sell risky assets on the local bourse.

Fawry is a powerhouse African tech firm, with more than 29.3 million monthly users. It is one of Africa’s few fintech companies listed on a stock exchange, and its technology provides more than 250 e-payment services through a network of over 105,000 service points in 300 Egyptian towns.

Sabry, Fawry’s managing director, who founded the payment platform in 2008 and pioneered electronic bill payments in Egypt, owns 2.345 percent of the company, or 40,036,282 shares.

Shares in the leading payment company were worth EGP4.8 ($0.262) per share as of press time on May 13, down more than 1.02 percent from its opening price on the Egyptian Exchange yesterday, May 12.

Shares in the group have dropped from a price of EGP5.44 ($0.297) per share on April 5 to a price of EGP4.8 ($0.262) per share at the time of writing this report, resulting in a total 11.8-percent loss for shareholders including Sabry, who owns a significant stake in the fintech company.

As a result of the drop in company’s share price, Sabry’s stake in Fawry declined in value from EGP217.86 million ($11.87 million) 38 days ago to EGP192.17 million ($10.46 million) at the time of writing.

This resulted in a total gain of EGP25.62 million ($1.402 million) for the multimillionaire businessman, who was instrumental in the growth of the Egyptian fintech space.