Money Fellows, a Cairo-based startup that digitises the so-called Middle East jamiyya savings model, has raised $13 million to expand across North Africa and beyond, the company has announced.
Jamiyya, which is also known as sanduk, is part of the Rotating Savings and Credit Association (Rosca) technique whereby a group of people agrees to contribute a certain amount of their salary each month, with each individual receiving their share back on a rotating basis. It helps employees equip their home, purchase gold for savings or even buy clothes.
Money Fellows raised the money in a stage C round of the startup investment cycle. The company has raised $60 million to date and has over 8.5 million users.
It plans to focus its expansion on North Africa with Morocco a priority, to take advantage of upcoming events such as the 2030 Fifa World Cup, it said in a press release.
The company matches savers, who are usually last in line to access cash in the pool, and borrowers, who are typically first in line, using behavioural data, credit scores and income levels.
The model is “naturally viral”, Money Fellows CEO told TechCrunch.
About 4 percent of the world’s unbanked population lives in Egypt, the most populous Arab country, according to Global Findex. Companies like MoneyFellows, Bokra, and unicorn MNT-Halan are tapping into this. A unicorn is a privately held startup company valued at $1 billion or more.
