Egyptian fintech in 2020: The journey ahead [Part Two]

Egyptian fintech in 2020: The journey ahead [Part Two]

In the second part series, Michel Assaad, vice president of Europe, Middle East and Africa strategy at Citi Bank, outlines the trends that have emerged in Egypt's financial technology (fintech) space over the past year. The views expressed below belong solely to him and not his employer.   

The past 10 months have been eventful, exhausting and sometimes painful. With vaccines being rolled-out, there is finally hope and a tentative timeline to get on a bumpy road to recovery.

Regardless of the timing of the recovery, 2021 will be exciting and lively for Egyptian fintechs. In addition to the trends outlined in the first part of this feature which will continue to drive most of fintech activity in 2021, there are a few other areas that I will be following closely:

Fintech IPOs?

Initial public offering (IPO) volume went through the roof in 2020 in the US, raising a record $180 billion, driven by a very strong stock market performance. The story couldn't have more been different in Egypt (it was a very slow year for IPOs) EGX30 index dropped by 22.3 per cent in 2020, causing a series of postponements to several high profile processes. Depending on the developments and road to recovery,