Beltone Mortgage goes digital as it looks to capture a quarter of the market share by year’s end

Beltone Mortgage’s ambitious first year on the market: With less than a year behind us following its launch in 4Q 2023, Beltone Mortgage has already snapped up a sizable market share, which it plans to grow to no less than 25% by the end of the year. We spoke with CEO Hassan Abdelnabi (LinkedIn) to catch up on the company’s ventures since our last chat in November.

The offering: Beltone Mortgage offers home mortgage loans, financing for commercial properties through flexible loan options and asset refinancing. The company also manages lease-to-own purchases, according to a companystatement(pdf).

Off to a good start: Beltone Holding’s mortgage finance arm currently ranks second in the mortgage finance market in terms of bookings and market share, which stood at EGP 2.6 bn and 22.5% at the end of 1H 2024, respectively, Abdelnabi told us.

In numbers: The company has provided some EGP 2.6 bn in real estate financing to over 1k clients since it kicked off operations.

The latest from the company: It launched a mobile application over the weekend and has plans to launch the second and third versions of the app over the coming months, Abdelnabi said. The app will enable clients to submit documents, receive pre-approvals, and check their dues and balances online. The only part of the process that will require face-to-face interaction is contract signing, he explained. The app is available on both App Store and Google Play.

The company’s edge? “Financing is disbursed within three working days of document submission, the fastest turnaround time of any player in the market,” Abdelnabi said.

Overseas expansion on the cards: The company plans to expand its operations overseas, potentially in Europe or the GCC, by 3Q 2025, Abdelnabi said.

“I think 2025 will be a good year for the mortgage finance market because we’re set to see a correction in interest rates,” Abdelnabi said, adding that a decline in rates will significantly stimulate the sector. “The corridor rate went up by about 8 ppts last year. It was a big hit for everyone in the lending industry, not just the mortgage finance sector.”

Room for growth: “The ability to extend mortgage finance for units that are under construction would greatly advance the industry and that’s something I’m hoping to see soon,” Abdelnabi said. The local mortgage market only offers financing for move-in-ready units. While the Financial Regulatory Authority permits players to finance units that are under construction, they can only secure financing for move-in-ready units under the central bank’s rules, he explained.