UAE’s Fintech Galaxy acquires Egypt’s Underlie

The agreement will help accelerate FTG’s open finance and open banking platform’s market penetration in Egypt, develop and launch new digital solutions, and push financial inclusion forward.

M&A activity across the emerging venture markets has been at a record high this year. The MENA region has surpassed the number of exits it recorded in the past year. While economic conditions had a large role to play in inculcating new exit strategies for startups, it resulted in some very interesting cross-market acquisitions within the MENA region.

We’ve seen KSA’s Floward acquire Kuwait’s Mubkhar, and earlier this year KSA’s e-commerce startup Sary acquired Egypt-based B2B platform Mowarrid as part of its plan to expand across MENAP.

In terms of fintech-based acquisitions, the real estate platform acquired Huspy Finance Lab, a lending advisory firm, and Just Mortgages – an independent financial consultant. Meanwhile, super app Careem also acquired Denarii Cash to connect customers and drivers with money transfer services using the platform’s money transfer technology.

According to the companies, Underlie’s customer-centric approach and ambition to understand FIs’ needs and pain points to provide them with new proposed revenue streams and tailored products and services complement Fintech Galaxy’s vision, existing distribution channels, technology, data practices and relentless focus on quality.

“Underlie’s expertise in building open banking APIs and knowledge of the local market will help us accelerate our Egypt market penetration, increase expansion in the region and unlock countless opportunities to create new open banking/open finance enabled applications, ” said Riyadh Al-Zamil – Chairman of Fintech Galaxy’s Board of Directors and Investors.

Al-Zamil added that all of Underlie’s current employees have been retained and warmly welcomed Fintech Galaxy Egypt’s operations

Underlie leverages open API technology and machine learning to empower banks and fintech companies to provide their customers with better services and benefits.

“This acquisition is proof of the positive impact Underlie has achieved so far,” said Akram Abdou, founder of Underlie.

“We are delighted to join forces with FTG and succeed in the wider regional Open Finance mission.”

Present in the UAE, KSA, Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon and Moldova, Fintech Galaxy seeks to build the most secure, reliable and developer-friendly open finance platform across MENA and beyond.

Mirna Sleiman – CEO and Founder of Fintech Galaxy – said: “The acquisition of Underlie anchors our open banking/open finance efforts and enables us to successfully deliver enhanced, seamless and enjoyable financial experiences, expanding and consolidating our position across MENA. Cross-border collaboration is key to moving the needle on financial inclusion in Egypt and beyond.”