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Settle payments secures $2m pre-seed funding to overhaul B2B payments in Egypt

Settle automates enterprise payments and manages all bank accounts in one place

Published: Thu 19 Sep 2024, 5:30 PM

Updated: Thu 19 Sep 2024, 5:31 PM

  • By
  • Sandhya D'Mello

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Kamil Sayour and Mostafa Mobarak

Kamil Sayour and Mostafa Mobarak

Settle, an Egypt-based B2B payment platform, has successfully raised $2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Shorooq Partners.

Other notable investors that participated included El Sewedy Capital Holding, Acasia Ventures, and Plus VC. With this new funding, Settle plans to accelerate its transition into the global market and further develop its platform with a focus on enabling CFOs and business owners to make confident decisions based on real-time financial data.

Settle, currently in its pre-launch phase, has already processed transactions worth more than 50 million Egyptian pounds during testing across such sectors as construction, energy, and contracting. Founded in 2023 by Mostafa Mobarak and Kamil Sayour, Settle aims to modernise financial operations for businesses by simplifying financial transactions and collecting real-time cash-flow data and insights.

To help organisations move B2B payments fully into the digital era, Settle has integrated with the top Egyptian banks through the Automated Clearing House (ACH). Settle’s platform connects ERP softwares such as Oracle and SAP to businesses’ existing bank accounts, automating payments, receivables, and treasury management. The integration provides companies with greater control and visibility of financial processes, reduces operational errors by up to 90 percent, and enhances efficiency by reducing the workload required for these critical processes by as much as 70 percent.

Tamer Azer, Partner at Shorooq Partners, stated: “The digitisation of financial operations for Egyptian businesses is long overdue, and Settle is stepping in with a service that is efficient, scalable, and easy to integrate.”

“The Egyptian market has undergone a digitization revolution for B2C services; now it is time for the same to happen on the B2B front,” Sayour explains. “As a result of ERP systems not easily integrating into bank platforms, it could take up two days to get a somewhat accurate picture of your cash flow as a business owner. That definitely stifles decision-making. With Settle, top management gets a live ERP system where they can see their cash flow in real-time, allowing them to make strategic decisions with confidence. Settle is a CFO’s dream come true.”

Hasan Haider, partner at Plus VC said: “B2B payments automation remains a blue ocean in our geography. Elsewhere in the world, we have seen this business model disrupt traditional accounting processes and operations. Settle has a fantastic opportunity to pioneer this market in Egypt and the region.”

Haytham Sabry, Group CEO of El Sewedy Capital Holding, stated, “At El Sewedy Capital, we seek out technologies that address real-world challenges, and Settle is a perfect example of this. The platform not only streamlines and automates manual financial processes but also empowers businesses to focus their resources on growth and innovation. By reducing the time and effort spent on administrative tasks, Settle enables companies to allocate their energy toward strategic initiatives, ultimately driving their success. This aligns with our mission of investing in solutions that foster operational efficiency and long-term business growth.”

“What Kamil and Mostafa are doing with Settle is a much needed digital solution to a big problem that companies from all walks of life suffer from,” says Aly El Shalakany, Managing Partner at Acasia Ventures. “From wasted resources on data entry to limited visibility into cash flow, these inefficiencies consume resources, take up valuable management time and stifle growth.”



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