MoneyFellows has secured $13 million in a pre-Series C funding round, paving the way for the popular Egyptian fintech to scale its unique digital savings model across new regional markets. Casablanca-based Al Mada Ventures and DPI’s Nclude Fund led the round, joined by other notable investment firms including Partech Africa and CommerzVentures, bringing MoneyFellows’ total raised capital beyond the $60 million mark.
Founded by Ahmed Wadi, MoneyFellows digitizes the informal financial practice known globally as rotating savings and credit associations, or ROSCAs. In traditional ROSCA models, groups of participants regularly pool money, which is then given to one individual at a time, cycling until everyone in the group has received a payout. Known locally in Egypt as gam’eya, the ROSCA practice has parallels worldwide—such as esusu or ajo in Nigeria and kameti or chit funds in India—due to its simplicity and effectiveness in providing access to savings and credit in informal markets.
MoneyFellows has innovated by digitizing this centuries-old practice, opening it to a broader set of users via its mobile app, substantially enhancing accessibility and scalability. The platform connects savers needing to build financial discipline, who typically receive their payout at the end of the rotation, with borrowers who benefit from earlier payouts. Using advanced credit scoring, income data, and behavioral analytics, MoneyFellows effectively manages and mitigates risk within circles. Remarkably, the company avoids significant debt or balance sheet exposure common among traditional digital lenders, with Wadi noting that the startup rarely injects its own capital except in cases when groups have unfilled slots—typically fewer than 10%.
The company’s disciplined, lean operational strategy has allowed MoneyFellows to grow profitably within Egypt. Starting operations in 2018, the company now counts more than 8.5 million users, an increase from the previous milestone of 4.5 million users. The average user payout has also doubled from 23,000 EGP (approximately $453) to 45,000 EGP ($906) since 2022, owing largely to increased adoption by wealthier segments of the Egyptian population.
MoneyFellows recently expanded its product offerings by introducing a payment card. The card simplifies the payout and repayment process for members and enables spending across a network of local merchants. According to Wadi, upcoming plans include additional financial services such as investment products, payroll solutions, insurance, and remittances—which positions MoneyFellows as a potential challenger to other Egyptian digital banking providers like Telda, Lucky, and Khazna.
With this latest funding injection, MoneyFellows aims to replicate its domestic success on a regional scale, starting with Morocco later this year. The country represents a familiar and promising market for the startup, sharing a similar informal financial culture and supportive regulatory environment; notably, Morocco also hosts strong cultural relevance of informal saving practices, locally termed daret. Additionally, Morocco’s hosting of events like the FIFA World Cup in 2030 offers further potential for accelerated digital adoption and user growth.
Further ahead, MoneyFellows is evaluating markets elsewhere in Africa and South Asia, regions where informal saving traditions maintain widespread popularity. However, each new location will test MoneyFellows’ ability to adapt its carefully refined technology and operational strategy to local financial behaviors and regulatory landscapes.
Al Mada Ventures’ managing director, Omar Laalej, commended MoneyFellows’ model, acknowledging the company’s accomplishments in modernizing and scaling an ancient financial tradition to improve the livelihood of thousands of families across Egypt. Reaching sustained profitability places MoneyFellows in a relatively small but highly distinguished group of African fintech companies that have successfully navigated rapid growth without incurring unsustainable debt or negative balance-sheet exposure.
