Egypt's Octane raises $5.2 million to digitize fleet payments across MENA
The Cairo-based startup, co-founded by Amr Gamal and Ziad Eladawy in 2022, provides a digital platform that consolidates all fleet-related expenses—including fuel, maintenance, and petty cash—into a single closed-loop wallet.
The new funding will be used to expand Octane's regional footprint, acceptance network, and AI capabilities, including fraud detection and route optimisation.
Press release:
Octane, Egypt's leading digital platform for fleet and on-road expense management, has raised $5.2 million in a funding round led by Shorooq, Algebra Ventures and SC Holding. The new capital will accelerate the expansion of Octane's acceptance network, deepen its technology stack and support the company's growth across Egypt and the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Unlike traditional fuel cards, Octane delivers a single closed-loop digital wallet that consolidates every on-road expense—fuel, maintenance, spare parts, petty cash and more into one platform. Real-time controls and analytics give fleet operators clear visibility, typically trimming avoidable fuel and mileage costs by double-digit percentages. The solution already supports diesel, gasoline and CNG, with EV-charging payments rolling out at pilot locations to keep pace with customers' evolving energy needs.
'At Octane, we're focused on giving fleets the rails they need to manage day-to-day payments with precision,' said Amr Gamal, Co-Founder and CEO of Octane. 'This funding lets us broaden our acceptance network, expand AI-powered fraud detection and route optimisation features, and stay ahead of the shift toward cleaner, more efficient mobility, without adding complexity for our customers.'
Since its founding in September 2022, Octane has rapidly built Egypt's largest fleet-payment coverage, now spanning 2,400 petrol stations and 400 CNG outlets nationwide. More than 1,600 corporate clients with a total fleet of ~250,000 vehicles rely on the platform to streamline fleet spending, and the company's headcount has grown to 200 employees. Octane's innovative approach earned an EEA Award for Rising Entrepreneurs of the Year.
'What drew us to Octane wasn't just the size of the problem they're tackling – it was the clarity and precision of their solution,' said Laila Hassan, General Partner at Algebra Ventures. 'In a market where billions leak through inefficiencies and fraud, Octane brings real accountability and control to fleet operators. Their vision extends far beyond fuel, laying the rails for B2B transactions across Egypt's logistics and mobility sectors. We're proud to back a team that's solving today's pain points while setting the foundation for a more efficient, transparent future.'
With fuel prices volatile and logistics costs rising, fleet owners need smarter expense-management tools to protect margins.
'The first wave of digitisation of mobility companies moved people; the second wave moved goods. But unlike the consumer space, the enterprise space lacked the payments and expense-management infrastructure to enable it. Octane is building that infrastructure,' said Tamer Azer, Partner at Shorooq. 'Octane is redefining financial technology and access products for fleet managers, and we're excited to support them as they scale their world-class technology to every company that operates a fleet across the MENA region.'
Integrated fleet-expense platforms are gaining momentum worldwide. Established players such as Corpay and WEX prove the demand for centralised fuel and maintenance payments, while newer fintechs like Coast and Fleetio are introducing modern, digital-first tools. Octane is bringing this proven model to Egypt and the MENA region, pairing a broad local acceptance network with controls and analytics tailored to regional tax and compliance requirements, giving operators automation and insight previously available only in mature markets.
With its robust network, proprietary technology and growing customer base, Octane is well poised to scale as more fleets seek data-driven solutions to control costs and improve operational efficiency.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Bawaba
6 hours ago
- Al Bawaba
Egyptian factory under fire for making products to Israel
ALBAWABA - An Egyptian factory is under fire after a juice poster ad in Tel Aviv goes viral online with claims that the product is being specially produced and exported from Egypt to Israel. Posts flooded social media, raging out at Faragalla, an Egyptian Company for Food Development, accusing it of producing juice bottles with details all written in Hebrew, adding that they are being sent to Israel. Calls to boycott the Egyptian company, Faragalla, and its products erupted on social media following the juice ad posters in Tel Aviv. A juice ad in Tel Aviv, Israel, reportedly said it is produced in Egypt. (X) A person posted the picture of the juice ad in Tel Aviv and wrote, "This is an advertisement for juice in Tel Aviv, do you know where it is manufactured? It is manufactured in Egypt, through the factories of the Faragalla Group. Faragalla belongs to Farag Amer, an Alexandrian businessman and president of the Smouha Club." The social media user continued, "Pfft, shame on people like him." Another person commented, "Boycott Faragalla products. Boycott is jihad. Boycott is a duty." An X user said, "Why is he surprised? Egypt is always in an economic relationship with the occupation. Due to the peace agreement." A video was also shared by the Rassd News of a person talking about the Israeli juice, saying: "This product is called 'Rashef', it enters Israel and it is being produced in the Egyptian Company for Food Development (Faragalla)". The man also claimed that Faragalla is the biggest exporter to Israel, adding that all the details on the bottles are in Hebrew, and continued that what he filmed is nothing but a sample of a larger order.
Al Bawaba
a day ago
- Al Bawaba
AUC Celebrates the Graduation of the Inaugural Cohort of Egypt's First Film Industry Business Certificate
The American University in Cairo's (AUC) School of Continuing Education (SCE) announced the graduation of the first cohort of the Film Industry Business Certificate, launched this summer in partnership with the international Silver Screen Film School in Romania. The program is the first of its kind in Egypt which provides hands-on training in production, marketing, budgeting, distribution and film financing, equipping participants with the business skills needed to succeed in today's rapidly evolving film industry. Courses were taught by award-winning filmmakers and producers from Silver Screen Film School alongside AUC business experts.'The certificate bridges a long-standing gap in film education, merging creativity with the vital business skills needed to thrive in the film industry,' said Mahmoud Allam, dean of SCE. 'We're proud to introduce a program that speaks directly to the needs of aspiring filmmakers, producers, marketers and entrepreneurs across the region. This collaboration is a strong example of how SCE continues to connect education to emerging market needs.'Participants in the inaugural cohort included aspiring producers, marketers and creative entrepreneurs. They learned and received training on how to pitch projects, manage financing, navigate distribution and build personal brands using AI tools. Speaking about their experience and why did they pick this program, several graduates noted that it was unique and different because it does not focus only on the creative and artistic side, but teaches film students how to turn ideas into real Waali, filmmaker and a graduate of the program, said, 'When I heard about the certificate, I was really excited. I had studied filmmaking, but never learned the business side formally. I picked it up through experience at festivals and production houses. As filmmakers, we truly need this knowledge.'Similarly, Rehab Elghatrifi, a TV director and another graduate of the program noted, 'The organizers were incredibly supportive, and the mentors — especially in production, marketing and film distribution — exceeded my expectations. You truly brought in the best people, and they shared their knowledge so generously.'Mariam Hamdy '06, '14, co-founder of the Silver Screen Film School alongside Octavian Dăncilă, a Romanian senior film programmer noted that the program is designed not just for emerging talent, but also for anyone who didn't previously have access to this kind of specialized film education, whether they're shifting careers or reigniting a passion. Hamdy added that the program aims to fill a gap in the market and respond to a growing niche within the film industry. 'This program is designed to combine world-class mentorship from both Silver Screen and SCE's strength in applied learning and professional development,' said Doaa Salem, senior director of outreach and partnerships at AUC's SCE. "We see this certificate as the first step in building a stronger, more resilient film ecosystem, and we're committed to supporting its continued growth.'
Al Bawaba
2 days ago
- Al Bawaba
du Pay launches 'Salary in the Digital Wallet' feature, empowering financial inclusion for the UAE workforce
du Pay, the advanced digital financial services subsidiary of du launches the 'Salary in the Digital Wallet' (SITW) feature, a cutting-edge service that allows UAE workforce to receive their salaries directly into their digital du Pay wallets. This feature will enhance the lives of the workforce in the UAE through access to simple, secure, and digital financial newly added functionality enables customers to get a unique IBAN when registering with du Pay, making it easy to receive salaries into the digital wallets. The initiative is set to transform the way the workforce manages their earnings, empowering them with instant access to their funds through the du Pay mobile application, and a physical du Pay card for cashless Digital Wallet feature is especially beneficial for the significant portion of UAE's workforce earning less than AED 5,000 per month and who typically have very limited or no access to traditional banking services. Now, customers can open a zero-balance account with du Pay, avoid the hassle of cash handling and enjoy the convenience of digital transfers and payments. du Pay digital wallet services also enable customers to do international money transfers, bill payments, telco recharges, order a debit card and do card payments. du Pay intends to launch more features to further digitize disbursements where UAE employers can leverage this seamless, efficient solution to support the UAE's vision for a digitized and inclusive workforce environment. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba ( Signal PressWire is the world's largest independent Middle East PR distribution service.
