Feature
Who funds Egypt? Local investors come first
Six in ten rounds raised by Egyptian startups since 2023 name an investor based in Egypt. Here is who they are, and where the ladder thins.
By AR Abdi · 2026-11-12
The Who Funds Africa series, no. 3. By AR Abdi.
Figures as of 9 November 2026.
In Kenya the first cheque is often a grant. In Nigeria it is often an accelerator. In Egypt it usually comes from an Egyptian investor.
Since January 2023, 187 Egyptian startups have raised 248 rounds on Propel. For 195 of those rounds we know where the investors are based, and 119 name at least one based in Egypt. That is six in ten. In Nigeria the same measure is three in ten, and in Kenya two in ten.
Ten of the 15 most active backers are Egyptian. A15 is named on 11 startups, Algebra Ventures and EdVentures on 10 each, and Beltone Venture Capital and Disruptech on nine each. The busiest of all is not local: 500 Global, based in the United States, is on 14.
Egypt is an equity market. Eight in ten rounds, 203 of 248, were equity. Grants and debt together were 45, under a fifth. In Kenya they are half. Grants are rare here: 19 since 2023, and 12 of those are a single cohort backed by GIZ and Nahdet El Mahrousa in October 2026.
The lower rungs are busy. At pre-seed, Plus VC and ACASIA Ventures appear most often. At seed it is 500 Global and A15. At Series A, Algebra Ventures leads with five startups, ahead of Partech Africa with three.
Close to half the money is one company. MNT-Halan has raised about $932 million across eight rounds since 2023, which is 45% of the $2.05 billion Egyptian startups disclosed. More than half of that was borrowed. Egypt's banks do much of the lending: National Bank of Egypt is named on debt for three startups.
The ladder thins quickly. Five rounds since 2023 carry a Series B or Pre-Series B label, for Yodawy, Paymob, Breadfast, Khazna and Taager. Three carry a Pre-Series C label: Almentor, Money Fellows and Paymob. None is labelled Series C.
Fintech leads with 63 rounds, a quarter of the total. Education and jobs follow with 30.
What the map cannot tell us. 106 rounds carry no stage label, so the ladder understates some investors. Another 53 rounds name no investor whose base we know, so they sit outside the six in ten. And an investor is counted where its Propel profile places it, which misses firms that work across the region from more than one office.
Founders in Egypt: did your first cheque come from an Egyptian investor?
Every investor named here has a page on Propel with the rounds behind it. Read no. 1, Nigeria, and no. 2, Kenya.
Source: Propel Africa, 9 November 2026. Egyptian startups with a round since 1 January 2023; acquisitions, IPOs and secondaries excluded.