During the last decade, international international Dubai has become one of the dominant payment processors throughout the Middle East and Africa, thanks to one in one pair of acquisitions.
However, many large established bodies can be victims of slower innovation, opening the door for smaller, fastest newly established businesses. Last Development is IntraepiccalA Fintech founded in 2022 by Hany Fekry, Former CEO at Network, along with another executive former network Hiss Houston.
Fintech, which has raised $ 6 million in seed funding, creates infrastructure for banks and fintechs, offering a range of local payment solutions, cards to wallets to real -time payments.
Prior to the start of Enza, the founders managed the sections of global acceptance, processing and consumers at the Network International. While Network created a powerful payment network throughout the Middle East and Africa, focusing mainly on the acceptance of things, they felt a huge gap in the creation of integrated solutions for banks and fintechs, especially in Africa.
When none of the parties could find alignment with the network, they resigned to start Enza, which officially began in January 2023.
“Our deviation prompted us to take a step back and re -think how to meet these inadequate market needs,” Managing Director Fekry at TechCrunch.
The founders of Enza say they have built the company using lessons from their time at the Network International and its subsidiary, DPO Group. But unlike these businesses, which have largely focused on the acceptance of the cards and on the acquisition of the trader, Enza adopts a broader approach, serving both sides of the transaction.
The Enza platform is designed for banks and fintechs on the version and the media and traders on the acceptance side. The start is initially aimed at Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, three of the largest financial markets in Epirus.
Accept payments on a wider fintech scale
Payments are often the first entry point in formal funding for millions of small businesses that are not covered or have not been stunned throughout Africa. Enza wants to help these businesses accept personal and electronic payments at little or no cost-a strategy that it believes will allow banks and blisters to build long-term relationships.
Once in force, the ENZA infrastructure allows for a cross -checking sale, saving, insurance and other financial services.
“Payments are the gateway,” he says Andrew Keywho joined Enza as executive director last year. “But value is in the data and services you can lay on top.”
This strategy also plays in the changing momentum between the banks and the Fintechs in Africa. For years, banks have given the infrastructure and especially the market share of SMEs to players such as Flutterwave, Fawry, Paymob and Moniepoint, now Nigeria’s largest buyer. However, banks continue to have basic advantages, namely broader service offers and regulatory support.
“Banks have realized that they have abandoned too much ground to reach,” Houston said. “We want to give them technology to compete and win it back.”
Similarly, despite the rise of fintechs across Africa, banks remain the central, adjustable players behind most of the concentrators. But many still do not have clear visibility in what their partners or subversive traders do.
This is one of the functions of Enza, the founders say: giving banks more transparency and control of their payment ecosystems so that they can remain compatible during escalation.
Abu Dhabi -based starting also expands the payment options available to banks. Enza is integrated with local card designs such as Verve, Afrigo and Meeza, along with world networks such as Visa and Mastercard.
It is also linked to real -time payment infrastructure, including NIBSS in Nigeria, Payshap, South Africa and Egypt’s Instapay, as well as mobile money and Telco wallets, while supporting QR codes, now buying, postpone payments and payments without contact.
Utilizing founder networks
Enza is utilizing the decades of experience of the founders’ founders and deep relationships throughout the continent to quickly secure contracts with several banks. For example, Fekry previously served as a head of the emerging markets (EMP), acquired by Network International, where he later became CEO.
Throughout their career, the team has worked with almost 200 banks. But this time, this is a quality for quantity. “We are not trying to reproduce this scale,” Houston said. “We aim for banking relations 30 to 40 high quality.”
While the company only started its activities last year, Dubai -based Fintech has already secured more than 10 million monthly conventional transactions through live corporate relations in six African markets: Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Uganda and Uganda.
Enza charges banks on a basis by transaction (“per click”). These volumes increase 35% to 40% monthly and are expected to double in the next two years.
The company was launched in its early years, with the founders funding it themselves. When they decided to raise external funds, the founders said they did not shop widely.
Instead, Algebra Ventures and Quona Capital led the $ 6 million seed tour. “Enza’s leadership team has an impressive history of starting, growth and exit from Fintech businesses across Epirus,” said Tarek Assaad, chief executive of Algebra Ventures, about why his business supported the two -year -old Fintech.
The new chapter will expand the team and release new products for its banking clientele throughout Africa.
“We founded Enza to solve real infrastructure problems across Africa,” Fekry said. “We have spent our career trying to ensure that our families and communities can gain access to economic products as people in Europe or the US at low cost and whenever they want.”
