The problem
Tens of millions of Egyptians operate outside the formal banking system, with little access to credit, digital payments, or financial services tailored to irregular incomes.
How it works
Founded in Cairo in 2018 by Mounir Nakhla with CTO Ahmed Mohsen, MNT-Halan started as a ride-hailing app for two- and three-wheelers before pivoting into finance. Today one super-app plus branches and agents delivers micro and consumer loans, wallets, prepaid cards, payments, savings, investments and e-commerce — all running on Neuron, its proprietary core banking software — with 1,000–2,500 new cards issued daily.
Pain points
Two-thirds of Egyptians have no formal bank relationship and irregular incomes that fail traditional credit scoring — cash dependence, no credit history, and no path into the financial system.
Business model
Interest margin on a fast-growing micro, consumer and SME loan book (near $1B combined with Tam Finans), plus fee income from payments, wallets, prepaid cards and e-commerce/logistics.
Why it worked
MNT-Halan fused microfinance lending with a consumer payments app and a vast on-the-ground agent network. Instead of waiting for users to come online, it digitized cash-heavy behaviors — lending, buy-now-pay-later, mobile wallets — and layered services into one super-app. Big-ticket rounds, including $157.5M with IFC participation, funded regional pushes such as the acquisition of Turkey’s Tam Finans.
Challenges
Lending to thin-file borrowers means constant credit-risk tuning; a banking or e-money license path adds regulatory overhead; and each new market (Turkey, Pakistan) replays the trust-building work from scratch.
Funding
- Raised: $157.5M round (debt and equity) reported by Wamda; earlier $400M equity-and-debt financing in 2023.
- September 2026: strategic capital increase led by Al Ahly Capital Holding at a $1.4bn valuation (first closing; second closing expected) — Launch Base Africa.
- Valuation: $1.4B (September 2026 round). Earlier $1B+ (company statement, 2023).
Latest — September 2026
MNT-Halan closed a strategic capital increase led by Al Ahly Capital Holding, the private-equity arm of the National Bank of Egypt, lifting its valuation to $1.4bn — up from the $1bn mark set by its $400M equity-and-debt round.Launch Base Africa reported on 11 September 2026, corporate documents show GB Corp (formerly GB Auto) retaining a 41.61% controlling stake after the round. The deal is the first closing of an ongoing round — reportedly a $30M initial infusion toward $70M+ — and the first time a commercial bank has taken an equity stake in the company. Founder and chairman Mounir Nakhla called the banking partner a milestone; Al Ahly Capital CEO Karim Saadé cited institutional confidence in MNT-Halan’s regional expansion and management performance.