Flapkap, a fintech startup based in Egypt, has raised $3.6 million in seed funding from investors such as QED, Nclude, A15, and Outliers. This newly raised funds add to the $1.2 million which Flapkap raised in March, 2022.
Riding on the back of this funding, the startup said it will expand its operations in Egypt, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia. It also plans to establish its position as a leading provider of revenue-based financing in the region.
Flapkap was founded in 2022 by Ahmad Coucha, who was also the co-founder of Kijamii advertising agency; and Khaled Nassef, who had worked with Germany-based neo-bank N26. Both co-founders double as CEO and CTO, respectively.
While working as CEO of Kajamii, Coucha noticed that small businesses usually wait several days before they receive payments for services rendered, leaving them with little funds to run their business while they wait. Coucha also noticed that there is a limited number of firms readily available to assist small businesses with funds, and this led him to start the Flapkap.
“We always thought to ourselves that this should be the exact opposite. Big clients with massive amounts of cash shouldn’t be the ones that get super flexible payment terms from the agencies; it should be the small and medium enterprises struggling for cash and growth. These should be getting the support,” Coucha said.
Flapkap provide online businesses (in the Middle East and North Africa) guides on revenue maximization and advertising expenditure, using artificial intelligence (AI)-based insight. The startup also provide firms revenue-based flexible payment terms for advertising expenditure to ensure sustainable growth without cash constraints.
“SaaS is still growing in its early stage in the Middle East, but it’s not yet sizable. On the other hand, e-commerce is booming in all parts of the world and is underserved by the current finance infrastructure in the Middle East and Africa,” Coucha said.
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Commenting on the fundraise, Gbenga Ajayi, a QED partner, said:
“Having invested and worked with similar companies to FlapKap across other regions such as Europe and Latin America, we are confident this team can attain similar success.”
Flapkap claimed it has recorded a growth of 300% since it began operations, and has helped its users increase their revenue by 80%. The startup also said it has integrated its AI-based insights and financial data analytics with Shopify, WooCommerce, Facebook and Google; and looks forward to partnering with more firms.