DEBT-

Al Baraka lines up shariah-compliant financing from IFC: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has agreed to lend USD 50 mn in sharia-compliant financing to Al Baraka Bank Egyptto finance MSMEs, the multilateral lender said yesterday. The funds will be used to finance thousands of small businesses operating across multiple sectors, with at least 25% of the money earmarked for women-led firms. The murabaha facility has a one-year tenor and is subject to renewal for an extra two years, Al Baraka said in adisclosure (pdf).

FINTECH-

Visa is working with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to push mobile payments ahead, AlBorsa reported yesterday, citing an interview with Visa’s country manager Malak El Baba.

What could change? Allowing customers to make payments via smartphones, tablets and smartwatches in a process known in the world of fintech as tokenization. In addition to letting consumers pay for items without the need for a physical card, the new system will also lay the groundwork for phones to be used as a point of sale (POS) device. The technical phase of setting up the system is currently underway and is set to launch in 2024.

NBFS-

Valu to offer consumer finance options for GSK vaccines: Local fintech firm Valu will provide financing plans allowing people to purchase vaccines from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) under an agreement signed by the two firms, it said(pdf) yesterday

REAL ESTATE-

Partment branches out across the Med: Homegrown proptech startup Partment is setting up shop in Greece on the back of a strong entry to the Egyptian market, it said(pdf) yesterday. Partment offers shares in co-owned second homes and has grown five times in its first year of operations.

SPACE-

MisrSat 2 (Egypt Sat 2) launched into space yesterday from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China, according to a statement from the Egyptian Space Agency (EGSA). The satellite is set to be used in the fields of agriculture, mineral exploration, surface water detection, and monitoring the effects of climate change. It was assembled and tested at EGSA’s Satellite Assembly, Integration and Test Center (AITC), which was established in partnership with China.

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