CEO Interview: Egyptian ValU’s expansion, new services come with $25mln price tag

CEO Interview: Egyptian ValU’s expansion, new services come with $25mln price tag

With 2023 approaching, ValU, Egypt’s leading buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) fintech platform, is readying itself for its first regional expansion and the launch of several new products, including cash loans for both consumers and vendors. These endeavours are expected to cost at least $25 million, according to CEO Walid Hassouna.

“We are waiting for final approvals from the Saudi Central Bank to launch in Saudi Arabia,” Walid Hassouna told Zawya. “We will be launching all our products there in 2023. These products may not come in tandem, but in sequence.”

ValU, a subsidiary of Egypt-based investment bank EFG-Hermes, currently serves more than 500,000 consumers and over 5,000 online and offline vendors. The company had a market share of nearly 30 percent over the first eight months of 2022, according to the latest government figures.

A Busy 2023

In the first quarter of 2023, ValU is expected to launch a prepaid card that will allow its users to make purchases at vendors who are not necessarily within the ValU network, Hassouna said. Customers will also be able to use their cards to withdraw money through ValU’s one-year-old redemption Sha2labaz program, he added.

Other financial services such as salary advances and life and property insurance are also expected to