MNT-Halan, Egypt's first fintech unicorn, has reached a 1.4 billion dollar valuation after the first close of a round led by Al Ahly Capital, the investment arm of the National Bank of Egypt. The size of the cheque and the stake were not disclosed, and a second close is still in progress, according to Enterprise.
The notable detail is who is buying. MNT-Halan has worked with more than 30 Egyptian banks as a financing partner, but this is the first time a commercial bank has taken an equity stake in the company, Wamda reported. Al Ahly Capital manages more than 2.5 billion dollars, and its move signals that incumbent lenders now see digital, data-led finance as something to own rather than merely fund.
MNT-Halan runs a stack of lending, payments, e-wallet and e-commerce services on its own technology platform, which automates credit decisions for customers that traditional banks rarely score. The company says it has provided more than 15.5 billion dollars in financing since launch and serves over 8 million customers across Egypt, Turkiye, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, per FinTech Global.
Founded by Mounir Nakhla, the company will direct most of the new money into its Egyptian business while continuing a Gulf expansion that began with its UAE entry in 2024. For the region, the deal reads as a marker of maturity: an automated, data-led lender no longer chasing banks for credit lines, but selling equity to one of the oldest names in Egyptian finance.
