Almentor secures USD 10 mn in pre-series C funding: Online self-learning platform Almentorclosed a USD 10 mn pre-series C round led by Etisalat’s VC arm, the startup said last week. Sawari Ventures and Egypt Ventures, the International Cooperation Ministry’s VC, made follow-on investments, along with Partech, Sango Capital, and Endure Capital.

A little Egyptian, a little Emirati: The company was founded in 2016 by the Egyptian Abdelrahman Fahmy (LinkedIn) and Ibrahim Kamel (LinkedIn), alongside the Emirati Ihab Fikry (LinkedIn), Hesham Heikal (LinkedIn), and Husni Khuffash (LinkedIn). The company operates in both Egypt and the UAE and has its HQ in Dubai.

Almentor is an Arabic online education platform helping fill the regional gap in the students to teachers ratio and help increase employee’s access to the job market.

Where the money’s going:The company will use the funds to invest in its B2C segment and expand to Saudi Arabia.

Acasia Ventures invests in Credable: Acasia Ventures — the VC arm of the local investment outfit formerly known as Cairo Angels — has invested in Dubai-based digital banking platform Credable, it said in a press release (pdf). It participated in a USD 2.5 mn seed round led by Ventures Platform which also featured participation from Launch Africa, MAGIC Fund, AAIC Investment, and Emurgo Africa.

Credable is a digital bank focused (so far) on East Africa: Launched two years ago, Credable is a B2B2C platform that provides digital banking services to businesses and individuals. It is currently active in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda where it has acquired more than 1.2 mn customers, including 200k who have used its credit and savings products, according to TechCrunch.

Where the money’s going: The company will use the funding raised to expand across Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya, as well as enter new markets.

Credable could soon come to Egypt: “Egypt and Nigeria are two key markets that Credable is exploring within its long-term expansion plans,” founder and CEO Nadeem Juma said.

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