Smart Egyptian AI startup seals early funding round

STARTUP WATCH- Smart AI startup idea seals early funding round: Homegrown startup MerQ Artificial Intelligence has recently secured seed funding from AI enthusiast and investor Ahmed Kamal Selim, reports Wamda. The company, valued at USD 800k and founded by Walid Ghalwash (pictured above), will use the proceeds to continue developing its flagship product — a virtual, Facebook Messenger-based financial assistant named “Sally.”

Wants to be a mass market financial advisor, starting with credit cards: The assistant is basically a cost-effective Facebook page programmed to respond instantly to questions about credit card plans available at Egyptian banks in simple, colloquial Arabic. “The company [eventually] aims to cover various topics of financial literacy in banking and non-banking services and to help in financial inclusion.”