Karim Awad-led EFG Hermes acquires Egyptian B2B marketplace Fatura

Tanmeyah for Microfinance Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of EFG Hermes Holding, has completed the acquisition of Egyptian B2B marketplace Fatura, which connects wholesalers and manufacturers with retailers across various industries.

EFG Hermes Holding is a Cairo-based financial services group led by Egyptian businessman Karim Awad.

Fatura was founded in 2019 by Egyptian entrepreneurs Hossam Ali, Ahmed Anwar, and Abdallah Mohebeldin as part of a coordinated effort to meet the demand of FMCG retailers by providing a simple-to-use mobile app that allows them to access a network of carefully vetted wholesalers.

Fatura provides a broad range of innovative services to users, including a marketplace with live product viewing and price transparency, B2B Buy Now, Pay Later services, and marketing support.

The acquisition comes after the Egyptian startup closed a $3-million pre-Series-A funding round last year as part of a move to deepen its operations and deliver value to retailers, manufacturers, and wholesalers.

According to Awad, the transaction was a significant milestone for Tanmeyah, which has grown into a major player on its non-bank financial institution platform. He went on to say that Tanmeyah made the strategic acquisition to accelerate its digital transformation and expand its products and services to become more holistic and support Egypt’s micro-finance sector.

“We’ve always seen potential in Fatura, and we are firm believers in its ability to innovate in the B2B digital space,” he said. “Our very own EFG EV Fintech made the decision to become one of the company’s early investors years ago.”

EFG Hermes Holding is a financial services conglomerate with operations in the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia.

Under Awad, who has been the group CEO since 2013, the holding has secured leadership positions in securities brokerage, asset management, investment banking, private equity, and research.

EFG Hermes Holding received shareholder approval nearly a month ago to increase its capital base by EGP973.07 million ($52.9 million) through a bonus share distribution as part of the financial services group’s strategic expansion plans.

The capital raise will be funded by the group’s retained earnings and distributed more than 194.61 million shares at a nominal value of EGP5 ($0.2734) per share, with one bonus share granted for every five owned shares.