2021 Changelabs Jordan Fintech Demo Day: The Who, What, Where and Why

As we sit on the cusp of a year that threatens to be even more unpredictable than the last, entrepreneurship has never been so vital in solving the region’s issues. It’s a sentiment that has been at the heart of the Changelabs Jordan Accelerator, the first of its kind in the Levantine nation. Launched towards the backend of 2020, the accelerator sought to unlock an ecosystem that holds unbound potential - an ecosystem that has been desperate for an accelerator programme of this depth. 

Held in collaboration with SANAD and FMO, as well as with the backing of Orange, MadfooatCom and Amazon Web Services, the 12-week virtual programme has been anchored by the involvement of a string of industry heavyweights, many of which are from within the MENA ecosystem. In addition to the likes of In addition to likes of Mostafa El Nahhas (co-founder of Fawry), Abdulaziz Al Jouf (founder of PayTabs), Inji Borai (Senior Managing Consultant at Mastercard), Fifth Trube's Adam Motiwala and founder of Eversound, Jake Reisch, were both on hand to provide their knowhow as a mixture of one-on-one mentorship and subject matter experts that were on-hand to help tweak and fine-tune 15 of Jordan’s most innovative and forward-thinking startups. 

The goal? Well, much of Jordan's population is unbanked, a phenomenon that persists despite the majority of the country being digitally-connected. It seems like an easy-fix, but these kinds of deep-seated issues demand creative, innovative and accessible solutions. Out of over 150 applicants, only a handful were chosen in the hope that the accelerator can give them the extra boost needed, wherever that may lie.

So, what's next?

A post-accelerator demo day beckons, but Changelabs are doing things a little differently. Streaming live via YouTube on Thursday 4th of February from 12PM (Jordan time), the demo day is set to take place from the stunning Umayyad Palace in Amman. Deep in the heart of the capital city, the palace sits as a monument to Jordan's rich yet often neglected history. Dating back to the 8th century, there are few locations as fitting a location for a day that could well go on to shape Jordan’s future.

Promising to be an immersive experience, Changelabs is going the extra mile to provide complimentary mansaf for those tuning in from Jordan. Yes, while you take in the pitches, while digging into a hearty plate of one of Jordan’s signature dishes, courtesy of popular Jordanian restaurant, Jabri.

It has all the makings of a landmark day for the Jordanian ecosystem, but who are the startups that will be pitching?

TANDA

What is it? 

Tanda is MENA’s first consumer-centric, app-based mobile savings platform that enables anonymous group-style savings and offers users multiple ‘buy now, pay later’ options (Pay with TandaTM ) for their household and other purchases. The platform is also a conduit to help millions of unbanked in Jordan gain access to value-added financial services.

Why they deserve your attention:

-Onboarded over 1,600 users in the first six weeks.
-Generated first revenue.
-Successfully launched 11 active Public Tandas.

Business Model: Transaction fees from users and commissions/discounts from merchants.
Stage: Seed
Market Size: $375 million in Jordan alone
Ask: $120,000
Find Out More: Pitch Deck / Website

QUIQ CLAIM

What is it?

Quiq Claim is the MENA region’s first platform connecting pharmacies, clinics, and other SMEs that operate in the healthcare sector (and invoice to insurance companies with long payment terms) to affordable and convenient short term funding options that improve their cash cycle.

Why they deserve your attention:

-Raised a pre-seed investment.
-Approved as part of CBJ sandbox.
-Launched MVP.

Business Model: Financing healthcare provider insurance claims at a reasonable discount rate.
Stage: Pre-Seed
Market Size: $300 million in Jordan alone
Ask: $250,000

Find Out More: Pitch Deck / Website

CAYYESH

What is it?

Cayyesh is MENAs first ‘offline’ digital marketing platform - one that operates in the physical world to help businesses acquire and retain customers by integrating directly with POS systems and offering loyalty, promotional and cash back programs, enabling businesses to link marketing spend to actual transactions.

Why the deserve your attention:

-Launched MVP.
-Onboarded 20 merchants.
-Signed a strategic partnership with MEPS, giving Cayyesh access to 12,000 additional merchants.

Business Model: Performance-based offline digital marketing platform.
Stage: Seed
Market Size: $3 billion
Ask: $400,000

Find Out More: Pitch Deck / Website

WALLET ERP

What is it?

Wallet ERP is an SaaS company that offers top notch, Arabic-enabled and locally-supported accounting and sales backend software for Jordanian and Middle Eastern SMEs. Their product is sold in easy-to-afford monthly packages that allow customers to use and pay only for the modules they need.

Why it deserves your attention: 

-Built a fully functional ERP SME platform offering local, Arabic-language support.
-Signed 50 recurring monthly customers since launching.
-Generated $44K of revenue.

Business Model: Subscription based.
Stage: Seed
Market Size: $50 million per annum in Jordan alone.
Ask: $250,000

Find Out More: Pitch Deck / Website

GOCASH

What is it?

GoCash is Jordan’s first fintech startup that enables every shop in the neighborhood to act as a ‘virtual ATM’ using just a smartphone or its POS system. It democratises the process of cash distribution in order to reduce the ‘cost of cash’, and helps millions of Jordan’s unbanked access the financial system.

Why it deserves your attention:

-Signed MOUs with the leading local and regional payment processors in Jordan (their infrastructure will be leveraged to integrate with banks).
-In talks with the leading mobile wallets in Jordan to integrate with them and offer them to the agent network.
-Closed a pre-seed investment of 300,000 USD from Changelabs' angel investor network.

Business Model: Transaction commission fees and featured merchants.
Stage: Seed
Market Size: $150-250 million in Jordan, $3-5 billion in MENA.
Ask: $1.5 million

Find Out More: Pitch Deck / Website

CHANGECOM

What is it?

Changecom is Jordan’s first mobile app-based savings and investing platform targeting millennials. It aims to help users save more deliberately using goals and rules, invest more wisely through in-app fund options, and spend their money more intelligently through integrated vendors.

Why it deserves your attention:

-Completing app design.
-Waiting list of over 1,000 Clients.

Business Model: Subscription-based B2C.
Stage: Pre-Seed
Market Size: $4 billion in MENA.
Ask: $150,000

Find Out More: Pitch Deck / Website

SHIPCASH

What is it?

ShipCash is MENAs first ‘instant payment’ cash-on-delivery platform that integrates directly with shipping companies’ systems to provide seamless, efficient and cost-effective cash payment and collection options for small and medium vendors shipping across the region.

Why it deserves your attention:

-Signed long term agreement with Aramex, biggest logistics company in MENA.
-Reached 200-plus clients and 10,000-plus shipments in three months of operations.
-Paid out over $300,000 to clients.

Business Model: Instant and upfront payment processor for ecommerce stores offering cash-on-delivery.
Stage: Seed
Market Size: $5 billion
Ask: $250,000

Find Out More: Pitch Deck / Website

CASHBEE

What is it?

Cashbee is MENA’s first mobile peer-to-peer cash payment application, effectively enabling any individual with a bank account, a telephone and cash in their wallet to become an ATM and earn fees.

Why it deserves your attention:

-Signed up five senders in three days using Facebook groups.
-Launched an email marketing campaign to 800 potential users and managed to sign-up eight users that are interested in their BETA version.

Business Model: Commission-based.
Stage: Pre-Seed
Market Size: $30 billion in Jordan alone.
Ask: $30,000

Find Out More: Pitch Deck

IVVEST

What is it?

IVVEST was created to transform the currently inefficient greens and vegetables value chain in Jordan by locally developing a cost-efficient and easy to operate indoor vertical farming system, which is backed by a unique IoT technology to fully automate and control the farming environment. This enables faster and cheaper farming operations and are combined with a one-of-a- kind online crowdfunding mechanism to scale.

Why it deserves your attention:

-Entered the Central Bank of Jordan sandbox.
-Piloted indoor farming system.
-Raised €20,000 from the EU.

Business Model: Contract-based selling of leafy greens to agricultural products resellers (B2B), while accelerating growth through crowdfunding.
Stage: Pre-Seed
Market Size: $9.2 billion
Ask: $100,000

Find Out More: Pitch Deck / Website

PHINGER

What is it?

Phinger is a mobile application that turns any smartphone in Jordan into a fast, secure and convenient payment method. The company allows vendors to receive their money faster and charges less than an average credit card transaction, making it a favourite among small-to-midsize merchants, who are its biggest marketers.

Why it deserves your attention:

-Signed service agreement with Madfooatcom for payment processing.
-Completed MVP of the mobile application.
-Brought on technical cofounders.

Business Model: Seamless and contactless mobile payment for in-store purchases within eight seconds.
Stage: Pre-Seed
Market Size: $3.2 billion
Ask: $150,000

Find Out More: Pitch Deck

DAREEBATECH

What is it?

DareebaTech is Jordan’s first and only government-approved electronic tax filing and payment System (EFPS),  enabling tax filing, payment and refund processes in real time.

Why it deserves your attention:

-Signed 10-year MOU with Jordanian government to be exclusive e-filing provider.
-Built a robust online tax filing platform for Jordanians.

Business Model: Subscription-based online tax filing services.
Stage: Pre-Seed
Market Size: $50 million per annum in Jordan alone.
Ask: $150,000

Find Out More: Pitch Deck / Website

Now that you know what you’re in for, click here to register.