Egypt’s e-commerce platform Wasla nabs $9 million from retail finance provider Contact – TechCrunch

Contact Financial Holding, Egypt’s non-bank consumer finance provider, has invested $9 million in the country’s ecommerce super-app Wasla, setting the stage for the rollout of new online shopping capabilities, products and regional expansion.

Contact has been in the business of consumer finance since 2001, while Wasla was founded in 2018 by former Serag Meneassy and Taymour Sabry, both ex-Rocket Internet entrepreneurs, and investment banker Mahmoud El Said.

“It’s an equity investment, through a series of investments that aim to grow the business going forward, to enable their business plan and their achievement of the company’s vision,” Contact Financial Holding chairman Hazem Moussa told TechCrunch.

The e-commerce platform is now set to introduce a range of products and options including buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) financing and a new online payment option.

Wasla, whose experience is pegged on its browser, has different features including a deal finder that aggregates discount codes and cashback links across a network of merchants. It is set to also introduce a price-comparison tool, as it continues to add new functionalities for a better end-to-end shopper experience.

“In the checkout phase, we plan to introduce a very secure payment method…limited by time or value. And the final step is integrating financing or buy-now-pay-later solutions directly within that. It is an end-to-end ecommerce experience starting from search and discovery to financing,”…

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