Egyptian startup Cayesh has received an award of $50,000 to support its Supply Chain Finance business as part of a newly-launched competition by the Central Bank of Egypt in collaboration with Visa International.
The company was presented the award on the second day of the Seamless North Africa 2023 exhibition and conference in Cairo, hosted by the Central Bank of Egypt under the auspices of H.E. Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, the Prime Minister of Egypt and in the presence of H.E. Mr. Hassan Abdalla, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt.
On the day, a shortlist of selected startups each presented their business models to a judging panel composed of prominent fintech experts. A key aim of the competition was to support and encourage fintech startups, and open new prospects for the entrepreneurial community in the industry.
Cayesh received the prize after impressing the judges with its solution for connecting suppliers to buyers and financial institutions and making working capital easier to manage and mobilize for supply chain stakeholders. As a result, Cayesh will be invited to a meeting with CBE’s top management to discuss means of assistance and regulatory support to accelerate the launch of its project in the Egyptian market.
The company’s business model seeks to address areas such as improved SME outreach for banks, access to finance to Very Small, Small and Medium enterprises (VSMEs) and enhanced financial inclusion by getting all payments through the Banking system.
Emerging Talent
Another competition, “FinTech Got Talent” was also launched in collaboration with the “FinTech Egypt” initiative, the Egyptian Banking Institute and the universities and banks participating in the FinYology initiative. The top three ideas presented by university students participating in the conference were selected and they were provided with the opportunity to showcase their ideas to banks and venture capital companies, enabling them to establish future partnerships.
In addiiton, H.E. Mr. Hassan Abdalla, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt awarded participants in the FinYology initiative from banks and universities, in recognition of their role in the initiative’s success to date. CBE said in a statement that the initiative has trained nearly 7,000 of university students in cooperation with 25 government and private universities including the participation of 18 banks operating in Egypt over the past three years.
In his closing remarks, Eng. Ayman Hussein, First Sub Governor for the Information Technology sector said: “The Central Bank of Egypt remains committed to supporting and nurturing the young Egyptian talents in the field of financial technology with the aim of leveraging on their potential to create a new generation of financial technology experts capable of strengthening Egypt’s leading position in this vital industry.”
