Nawy, MFIC close Egypt’s first-ever Ijarah-backed mortgage fund: Proptech firm Nawy and Synergy Capital’s asset management arm Misr For Financial Investments (MFIC) closed the Middle East’s first transferable-assets and Ijarah-backed mortgage fund, raising EGP 443 mn, according to a joint statement (pdf). This is the country’s first Islamic finance vehicle to securitize home-loan receivables.

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Breaking down the jargon: The Misr for Financial Investments - First Issuance Fund pools together Shariah-compliant home-financing contracts, known as Ijarah, or lease-to-own agreements, and packages them into transferable investment units that investors can buy. Funds raised are then used to purchase existing mortgage portfolios, giving financial institutions liquidity while providing investors with steady, fixed-income returns backed by real-estate assets.

The institutional muscle behind the close: The fund was oversubscribed within 10 days of opening after securing cornerstone investments from Al Baraka Bank, Allianz, Misr Ins. Holding, Misr Ins. for Property & Casualty, Mohandes Ins, Suez Life Ins, and Garhy Group for Investment & Development. The offering was also open to qualified individual investors, who accounted for 22% of total subscriptions, marking the first time retail investors were able to directly participate in a mortgage-backed fixed-income fund alongside institutional players.

Keeping the regulator onside: The proptech platform, which recently broke into the UAEmarket by buying into SmartCrowd, is already working with the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) to align its products with the regulator’s evolving framework for fractional property and real estate investment funds (REIFs). The FRA recently rolled out a new framework for fractional real estate investment, allowing investors to buy and trade units in real estate funds under tighter governance and disclosure rules. The move aims to expand access to property-backed investment vehicles and deepen liquidity in the domestic non-bank financial markets.

ADVISORS- Banque Misr acted as custodian on the transaction, while Misr Ins. for Property & Casualty provided ins. coverage, and ALC Alieldean Weshahi & Partners acted as legal counsel.

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