Egypt’s Flend Raises USD 3 M To Scale AI-Driven SME Lending Platform

Egyptian fintech Flend has raised USD 3 M in seed funding, a mix of equity and debt, to expand its fully digital, FRA-licensed lending platform for small and medium businesses. The round was led by Egypt Ventures, with participation from Camel Ventures, Sukna Ventures, Plus VC, Banque Misr, and notable family offices like El Sewedy and Baalbaki Group. Debt financing came from MSMEDA and local banks.

Founded by Ahmed Zaki, Nehal Helmy and Saif Edeen El Bendari, Flend is the first Digital NBFI licensed by Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority, enabling it to issue fully digital, legally binding loans. Its platform integrates directly with logistics networks, agri-distributors, e-commerce platforms, and payment systems—embedding working capital finance at the point of need.

“We’re not just digitising old processes,  we’re creating new rails for finance that are faster, fairer, and built for scale,” said co-founder Helmy.

Founded by veterans from banking and digital policy, Flend uses real-time data and machine learning to approve loans in days instead of months. It has already served SMEs across 15+ sectors, reducing approval times by 95%.

With this funding, Flend aims to inject EGP 1 B into Egypt’s SME economy, expand to new regions, and become a model for digital-first lending in the MENA region.