Egypt’s Fintech MNT-Halan Acquires Pakistan's Advans Microfinance Bank

MNT-Halan, a fintech company based in Egypt, has acquired Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank after being granted approval from the Competition Commission of Pakistan. Although the terms of the deal are currently undisclosed, the share purchase agreement was signed in August 2023, while the State Bank of Pakistan gave their approval for the deal in October 2023. The approval of the CCP was one of the few obstacles that needed to be cleared before the deal could be considered official.

Founded in 2017 by Mounir Nakhla, MNT-Halan offers financial and non-financial services such as lending, e-commerce, buy now pay later, payment solutions and mobility to on-demand logistics. In February 202, MNT-Halan had raised up to $400 million in equity and debt financing in order to help expand its reach globally.

Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank is the Pakistan branch of Advans Group, a microfinance group that operates in nine developing nations. Since being granted a license to operate as a microfinance bank in the province of Sindh by the State Bank of Pakistan, the bank has since shown declining performances particularly in recent years, with Advans Pakistan having accumulated losses of Rs 1.3 billion as of September 2023.

The acquisition will see 100% of Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank purchase from Advans S.A. SICAR, Advans' Luxembourg-incorporated financial services firm.

According to the World Bank, the microfinance sector caters to 76% of all borrowers and contributes about one-third of all outstanding agricultural advances.