Latest news with #ROSCAs
CairoScene
06-05-2025
- Business
- CairoScene
MoneyFellows Raises $13M to Expand Savings Circles Beyond Egypt
MoneyFellows digitises ROSCAs to scale without lending from its own balance sheet—and it's now eyeing markets beyond Egypt May 06, 2025 Cairo-based fintech startup MoneyFellows has secured $13 million in a pre-Series C funding round co-led by Al Mada Ventures and DPI's Nclude Fund, with participation from Partech Africa and CommerzVentures. This investment brings the company's total funding to over $60 million. Founded in 2016 by Ahmed Wadi, MoneyFellows digitises the traditional rotating savings and credit association (ROSCA) model, known locally as 'gameya.' The platform enables users to join or form digital savings groups, matching savers and borrowers through behavioural data and credit scoring. Unlike traditional lenders, MoneyFellows operates a balance sheet-light model, only stepping in to fund slots when user groups are incomplete—a scenario that now occurs in fewer than 10% of cases. The company has grown to over 8.5 million users and achieved profitability in Egypt. The average payout per user has nearly doubled in the past two and a half years, from LE 23,000 to LE 45,000. With the new funding, MoneyFellows plans to expand into Morocco by the end of 2025, targeting markets with similar informal savings cultures and large unbanked populations. Further expansion into other African and South Asian markets is also under consideration. The company is also exploring the addition of services such as investment, payroll, insurance, and remittances, aiming to evolve into a comprehensive personal finance platform.
Finextra
05-05-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Egypt's MoneyFellows raises $13m for digital money circles
Egyptian fintech Money Fellows has raised $13 million for its mobile-based platform for money circles - where a group of people put funds into a pot for a specific period so that they can save and borrow together. 0 The pre-Series C round was led by Al Mada Ventures and DPI's Nclude Fund, with participation from Partech Africa and CommerzVentures. Popular in Egypt and other Arab countries under the name 'Gameya', Money Circles are also known as Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs). ROSCAs work by pulling together a group of people that each agree to pay a set amount of money each month for a set amount of time. Each month, one member gets that period's amount. So, if 10 people agree to pay $100 for 10 months, each month one member receives $1000. MoneyFellows digitises the process, using behavioural data, credit scores, and income tiers to connect savers and borrowers, broadening the potential pool of Money Circle partners beyond the traditional group of close friends and family. Launched in 2018, the MoneyFellows now claims over 8.5 million users and an average payout per user of around $900, helping the company hit profitability. Ahmed Wadi, CEO, MoneyFellows, tells TechCrunch: "We have managed to crack this model and reach profitability,' said Wadi. 'Doing this while lending out billions without relying on working capital at all is quite disruptive in itself."
