Egyptian Investment Platform Thndr Raises $20M for MENA Expansion
The Cairo-based fintech's short but eventful tenure has seen it make huge strides in democratising investment - something it will now look to do across the region.
Egyptian fintech, Thndr, has announced the raise of Series A round of $20 million, led by US-based Tiger Global, Dubai’s BECO Capital and South Africa-based Prosus Ventures. With additional participation from Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Raba Partnerships and JIMCO, the investment will be channelled into two main areas: product development and, most interestingly, regional expansion.
Launched in 2020 by Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr, Thndr was conceived as a solution to what the co-founders saw as an outdated investment account process. Ultimately, the platform seeks to democratise investment and 2021 saw them make huge strides. During that year, Thndr grew assets under custody at a rate of 29x, while 36% of all new registrations in the Egyptian exchanges came through the platform.
“We are building an investment supermarket for MENA consumers to access relevant investment products,” said Hammouda, who also serves as Thndr’s CEO. “With a focus on financial literacy, we equip investors with the knowledge to make self-directed investment decisions. We pride ourselves in being agents of change in the investment sector, and staying true to our mission of democratising investing for everybody in the region.”
Thndr’s short but eventful tenure has revealed more compelling figures. A remarkable 87% of Thndr users are first-time investors, while 40% come from rural areas. The startup’s regional expansion plans look just as compelling, considering the region's population of 370 million amasses some $500 billion in savings annually, while half of that population is aged between 14 and 45 years old - an ideal overall market for Thndr to penetrate.
