Prospects for fintech startups in MENA are apparently looking good, with their numbers growing 50% between 2013 and 2015 to 105 companies from a 46, according to a report form Payfort and Wamda released this week. That number is expected to grow to 250 startups by 2020. Egypt is home to 16% of all fintech companies in the MENA region, but comes a far second to the UAE with 29% of all companies. The sector has managed to raise USD 100 mn in investments over the past decade, and expects to attract USD 50 mn in 2017 alone. Fintech investments globally have reached were estimated at USD 16.1 bn in 2016, down from USD 22.3 bn in 2015, though that downside doesn’t appear to be reflected in the region. It is projected that e-commerce will grow to a USD 29 bn industry by 2020 in MENA. You can catch the full report here, or the video summary of the report (watch, runtime: 2:03).

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