Tag: Contact Financial Holdings

  • Trella Secures Substantial Debt Facility to Expand Operations

    Trella Secures Substantial Debt Facility to Expand Operations

    Introduction

    Trella, a transportation marketplace and B2B technology platform, links shippers and carriers in real time. The startup completed a US$42 million Series A funding round, consisting of US$30 million in equity and US$12 million in debt facilities. It has since followed up with additional, undisclosed debt capital from Contact Financial Holding Egypt.

    The top non-banking financial services provider in Egypt, Contact Financial Holding, has agreed to provide Trella with a sizeable financing facility so it can develop its business in a number of ways.

    Trella, a transportation marketplace and B2B technology platform, links shippers and carriers in real time. The firm operates across the Middle East and Pakistan and has over 350 shipper partners, including household names like Coca-Cola, Maersk, Mondi, Henkel, Amazon, and DHL. Additionally, it works with over 30,000 carriers.

    The startup completed a US$42 million Series A funding round, consisting of US$30 million in equity and US$12 million in debt facilities, to help it expand, as reported by Disrupt Africa in June 2021. It has since followed up with additional, undisclosed debt capital from Contact. Through Contact’s four subsidiaries—Contact Factoring, Contact Leasing, Contact Credit, and Contact Creditech—the two businesses are collaborating. In order to support Trella’s continued rollout in Egypt and regional expansion, each agreement offers a customized solution to finance Trella’s working capital needs, its carrier base, truck spare parts, and maintenance services.

    Trella Egypt’s working capital requirements were funded through a financing deal negotiated with Contact Factoring. Through Contact Financial Holding’s other two subsidiaries, Contact Credit and Contact Leasing, which will finance Trella’s carrier base to buy trucks for either individual carriers or MSMEs owning a number of trucks and wanting to increase their fleet, this strategic partnership also benefits Trella.

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    Additionally, as part of Contact Financial Holding’s partnership with Trella to support and guarantee the continuity of their truck drivers, Contact Creditech, a consumer finance company, will fund Trella carriers’ purchases on Trella Store, an online store created by the business to offer trucking products like tires, brakes, engine lubricants, maintenance services, and other essentials.

    “We are fortunate to have Contact as one of our partners to provide different financing solutions to our customers. The supply chain has been witnessing a lot of innovation lately, but not as much was felt on scaling financing options to the stakeholders involved. Through our partnership with Contact, we are going to avail ancillary financing solutions to our carriers, in addition to sourcing working capital facilities to our trucking business, getting us one step closer towards achieving our vision to empower our communities,” said Omar Hagrass, CEO of Trella.

    Zater, CEO of Contact Financial Holding, said Contact had always been keen on exploring and supporting new startup businesses.

    “We are very proud to partner with Trella and provide them with the financial solutions needed to expand their business. Contact integrates the tech-based system and the company’s dynamic efforts toward enabling emerging digital platforms to support financial inclusion initiatives spearheading the lending-as-a-service in Egypt,” he said.

    Trella

    How will Trella utilize this funding?

    Trella will utilize the money to continue to be the market leader in MENAP, where the road freight market is worth US$50 billion and to expand its technological capabilities and product development in order to spur growth.

    “This US$42 million funding round is a huge endorsement of Trella’s capabilities, business model and market opportunity. We have a strong diversity of investors and we thank all participants for their support,” said Omar Hagrass, chief executive officer (CEO) of Trella.

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    “It is great to have Maersk, as a shipper customer that uses Trella, invested in our future growth. The MENAP freight market is a significant one and urgently needs the transparency, reliability and efficiency that Trella and its technology platform provide. We are trusted and used by some of the world’s most recognisable brands, and we look forward to working with our partners to scale across MENAP. ”

    Raed VC’s founding partner, Omar Almajdouie, said his firm had an “unwavering belief” in the Trella founders, which coupled with the booming freight sector, made the opportunity to lead the round “very exciting.”

    Trella’s product innovation has enabled them to grow significantly in the past year despite the tough operating environment. This is a testament to their resilient business model and strong team. “We are excited to support the team on their growth journey,” he said.

    Jeppe Hoier, a partner at Maersk Growth, said that trucking had changed quickly because new digital tools have made it possible for even the smallest companies to ship goods.

    Trella’s platform is an excellent example of this democratisation of the logistics sector. Trella is at the same time our first investment on the African continent, founded by a team with significant experience from the startup scene, “he said.

    Conclusion

    The funding opportunity provided by Contact Financial Holding is a huge one for Trella. Would Trella utilize this opportunity this time to good use?

    The past records of how they used  is apast fundings good sign that they would utilize this one well. Well, only time would be the answer.

  • Egyptian browser-based eCommerce platform Wasla nabs $9M funding from Contact

    Egyptian browser-based eCommerce platform Wasla nabs $9M funding from Contact

    Wasla, the Egyptian browser-based eCommerce platform, has raised $9 million US dollars in Series A funding from Contact Financial Holdings, a non-bank consumer finance provider in Egypt, to aid its new online shopping capabilities and products and regional expansion.

    About Wasla – Shop Anything and Save on Everything

    Founded in 2018 by Serag Meneassy and Taymour Sabry, both ex-Rocket Internet entrepreneurs, and investment banker Mahmoud El-Said, Wasla is focused on optimizing the end-to-end online shopping experience and is the first emerging markets mobile web browser and desktop extension that helps users save money, pay securely, build their credit profiles and gain access to flexible and convenient financing.

    It is the first web browser that helps users save money as they shop online through aggregated deals, discounts, and cashback for a network of over 100 local and regional eCommerce merchants.

    How sweet is it to earn cashback whenever you shop online with your favorite browser? Did I hear you say super cool?

    Wasla is a reimagining of the modern-day web browser, moving past legacy browsers and powering a mobile-first experience built from Africa for Africans. The platform combines rewarding, browsing, and eCommerce technologies delivered through a unique experience optimized for online shopping.

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    In 2025, the whole eCommerce sector in Africa might reach over $46.1 billion, according to Statista.

    Interestingly, the browser-based eCommerce startup currently has 35 team members 1.5 million app downloads, with 8.5x year on year on year growth in total eCommerce traffic.

    Optimizing the eCommerce Search and Discovery Experience, rolling out new products and regional expansion with Contact $9M Funding – Wasla

    Contact Financial Holdings — formerly Sarwa Capital — is Egypt’s largest consumer finance platform, transforming how people access finance since 2001. As the first financial services platform to introduce advanced credit scoring and collection mechanisms in Egypt, this strategic investment adds to Contact’s growing footprint in fintech, particularly in eCommerce, allowing Wasla to engage consumers at the beginning of their eCommerce journey while they search, discover, and shop online.

    The Chairman of Contact Financial Holding, Hazem Moussa, told TechCrunch that the $9 million funding is an equity investment through a series of investments that aim to grow the business in the future, to enable their business plan their achievement of the company’s vision.

    Mahmoud El-Said, CEO of Wasla, commented — “Having personally worked with the Contact team before, I was always amazed at what they have been able to build as a leading consumer finance platform in the region. This is why we believe this deep partnership, leveraging Contact’s market position, experience, and fully digitized loan origination process, will allow us to expand our offering catering to the online shopping experience by introducing completely new ways to help consumers save money on each online purchase, pay securely, build their credit profiles, and borrow flexibly.”

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    Wasla’s current focus is on optimizing the eCommerce search and discovery experience by helping users save money online through aggregating deals for a network of over 100 local and regional e-commerce merchants (similar to US startup Honey, which sold to PayPal in 2019 for $4 billion).

    The browser-based eCommerce platform is 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 also set to 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,” Wasla Co-founder and CEO El-Said told TechCrunch.

    The new payment option is set to encourage shoppers to transact online because Egypt is currently a predominantly cash-on-delivery market, which El-Said said is a “costly operation for merchants.”

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    Offline payment is also a costly option for buyers as it comes with a cash-on-delivery fee. Contact is set to bring in its experience in consumer finance and technology, including its advanced credit services platform, to help Wasla extend financing to shoppers.

    Moussa commented — “We are thrilled to be supporting the Wasla team to build out their vision of a digital ecosystem enabling online shopping for all. With over twenty years of innovation in consumer financial services, this strategic investment demonstrates Contact’s drive to multiply its reach and empower businesses with its advanced credit services platform.”

    “We are working on extending what we have built-in terms of credit engines, AI scoring engines, and a variety of tools…including instant approval, fast approvals, and pre-approvals,” said Moussa.

    “With the whole experience being on the Wasla browser, you have a lot more access to customer behavior and customer interests and therefore be able to tailor the programs to the user base, and so that is a big addition to the experience — from the start the journey to the payments to the financing,” he added.

    As it seems, with the regional expansion plan, Wasla is eyeing to enter the Nigerian market.

    “It’s a huge market at the end of the day; you have roughly 250 million people. They’re very technologically advanced, and their adoption of eCommerce is quite good. It’s quite the right market. There’s all the infrastructure that you kind of need to set up a proper tech business. In terms of maturity within the tech ecosystem, Nigeria is probably one of the best markets in Africa, competing directly with Egypt, South Africa, and a couple of others,” said El-Said.