Egyptian Startup Thndr Raises $20M to Make Investing Available to the Underbanked

Thndr, a Cairo-based digital investment platform, announced a $20 million Series A investment Thursday (Feb. 9).

The company said the funding will be used for product development and to expand Thndr’s presence across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

This latest round was led by Tiger Global, BECO Capital and Prosus Ventures, and saw participation from Base Capital, firstminute and existing investors Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Raba Partnerships and JIMCO.

Launched in late 2020 by current CEO Ahmad Hammouda and Chief Operating Officer Seif Amr, Thndr said it is transforming traditionally outdated and slow process of opening and managing investment accounts. In a press release, the company said it is making it easy to invest in stocks, bonds and funds through its mobile and low-commission digital stock brokerage.

Per the release, Thndr has grown assets under custody 29x during 2021, and it accounted for 36% of all new registrations in the Egyptian exchanges last year.

“We are building an investment supermarket for MENA consumers to access relevant investment products,” Hammouda said in a statement. “With a focus on financial literacy, we equip investors with the knowledge to make self-directed investment decisions.”

In contrast to the U.S. and Europe, MENA countries are underserved when it comes to investment platforms, and less than 3% of residents make investments.

The region’s population population sits at 370 million, amassing $500 billion in annual savings, and 62% of the population has smartphones, according to the release. Thndr added that it is creating investors out of members of the population who previously had limited equity market exposure.

Also this week, MENA-focused FinTech Hubpay closed a $20 million Series A fundraising round and launched a cross-border digital wallet with no-cost remittances to drive financial inclusion across the region.

Related: Hubpay Raises $20M and Unveils Cross-Border Digital Wallet

Hubpay, the first startup licensed in the United Arab Emirates for digital money services, will use the fresh capital to hire more employees and continue its international expansion.