In support of the financial inclusion strategies and the digital transformation of Egypt, eFinance Investment Group and IBM Egypt signed a cooperation agreement in the presence of Ms. Ana Paula Assis, Chair and General Manager EMEA at IBM, along with Mr. Saad Toma, General Manager at IBM Middle East & Africa. The protocol aims to study the establishment of an integrated digital banking platform, infused with artificial intelligence, for banks and financial institutions in alignment with the directives and policies of the Central Bank of Egypt. The platform aims to provide digital systems and services to banks and financial institutions, assisting them in achieving their business goals, expanding their customer base, and delivering a distinguished user experience. Additionally, it seeks to reduce operational costs, contribute to sustainability objectives, and mitigate environmental impact by offering services electronically. According to the cooperation protocol, the alliance is set to provide advanced technology to the banking sector, leveraging the capabilities of the IBM Watsonx platform for data and artificial intelligence. Additionally, it will offer IBM's consultancy services for designing, developing, and accessing various systems and services through this platform. The alliance will also undertake infrastructure development, establish core software, implement automated workflow systems, and institute a cybersecurity system to safeguard data. It will manage and make the platform accessible to banks and financial institutions for developing digital solutions, accelerating the pace of digital banking services in Egypt, particularly digital banks. Ibrahim Sarhan, Chairman and CEO of EFIG stated, "Our aim is to provide our clients with the best digital technologies, including cloud computing and artificial intelligence services in Egypt. As part of this initiative, at eFinance Investment Group, we are working on plans to introduce digital technologies to banks, leveraging the capabilities of the Group in sustaining national systems and its expertise in financial and banking services. Therefore, our collaboration with IBM, with its global expertise and advanced digital solutions, is crucial in designing and implementing a digital banking platform for banks, enhanced with the latest advancements in artificial intelligence. We believe that this digital banking platform will achieve the Egyptian Central Bank's strategy for financial inclusion and Egypt's vision for 2030." Marwa Abbas, General Manager and Technology Leader at IBM Egypt commented on the collaboration, stating, "We are pleased with this collaboration with eFinance as it will contribute to studying and innovating the best design for a digital banking platform heavily relying on IBM's integrated digital solutions enhanced with artificial intelligence capabilities. This contributes to presenting a shared vision and some concepts related to digital financial services that align with the directives and policies of the Egyptian Central Bank. Artificial intelligence represents a significant opportunity for governments and public sector institutions looking to leverage new technologies to meet national agendas and sustainable development goals. AI has the potential to usher in a new era of services, improving workforce efficiency, and reducing operational costs."

eFinance investment group, one of Egypt’s leading payment and digital banking technology companies, announced its strategic joint venture today at Cairo ICT 2023 with Codebase Technologies, a leading global digital banking technology provider. The two companies will launch the country’s first Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) solutions, to accelerate the speed of digital banking transformation in the country. Ibrahim Sarhan, Chairman & CEO of EFIG commented, “In line with Egypt’s vision of transitioning into a cashless society, and its efforts to promote financial inclusion and boost the FinTech industry, we are proud to be an enabler for banks, and fintech startups through our highly advanced, secure infrastructure, digital investments, and partnerships with industry leaders to forge a seamless transition. Our collective collaboration with Codebase Technologies and Visa will offer a BaaS solution that is designed to grant banks, and fintechs a streamlined route to digital initiatives, while ensuring their capacity for sustained product and service innovation.” Banking as a Service (BaaS) is a model in which banks integrate their digital banking services directly into the products of other non-bank businesses through the use of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). BaaS plays a transformative role in enhancing financial inclusion and bolstering entrepreneurship potential across the world by facilitating access to banking tools and resources, such as credit, savings accounts, and payment processing. BaaS platforms, such as the one being launched, will provide tailored financial products that cater to the unique needs of Egypt’s financial institutions, banks, and fintechs, fostering innovation and growth. Tamer Al Mauge, Managing Director - MENA at Codebase Technologies, stated “We are thrilled to combine eFinance's industry and market expertise with our extensive global project experience and the digital banking capabilities of Digibanc. BaaS offers both established players and emerging entrepreneurs a rapid route to market for innovation and launching new products. Together, we will introduce a service that will profoundly influence Egypt's digitization journey.” This initiative marks a significant step forward in modernizing and enhancing the region's financial services landscape. The BaaS joint venture will help financial institutions in Egypt transform by providing them with a full range of digital banking, neobanking, lending, and payment solutions. These services will be integrated into an efficient, cost-effective deployment model, enabling significant economies of scale and will reduce total cost of ownership and capital investment in launching new digital customer experience and products. Our Cloud BaaS suite offers an agile core banking system, digital onboarding, instant card issuance and processing, digital mobile wallets, digital Lending and more. “This strategic joint venture marks a significant milestone in revolutionizing the Egyptian financial landscape. Our BaaS platform offering will empower businesses and banks with unprecedented digital capabilities, fostering a more inclusive, innovative, and robust financial ecosystem that is poised to redefine the way Egypt approaches banking and finance,” added, Omar Mansur, Managing Director - Global Enterprise Projects.

EFIG announced today its standalone and consolidated results for the nine-month period ended 30 September 2023. The Group’s consolidated revenues rose by 42.7% y-o-y to EGP 2,764.8 million as the Group reaped the rewards of strong performances from its portfolio of subsidiaries. Strong top-line results trickled down to the Group’s EBITDA, which expanded by 44.1% y-o-y to EGP 1,313.8 million. At the bottom-line, EFIG’s net profit after non-controlling interest (NCI) surged by 68.1% y-o-y to EGP 1,147.4 million, yielding a y-o-y net profit margin increase of 6.3 percentage points to 41.5% during the nine-month period. The Group has kicked-off the second half of the year on an impressive note and has booked record results across the board, with our performance across all metrics continuing to reflect our innovative approach to doing business, the operational strength of our portfolio companies, the rewards generated from our growing investments across key sectors, as well as the rising demand for digital solutions from the sectors, businesses, and people we serve. The Group’s consolidated revenues increased by 42.7% y-o-y to EGP 2,768.4 million in 9M2023 following strong broad-based growth across the Group’s subsidiaries. eFinance Digital Operations was the primary revenue growth driver as the subsidiary reported solid results across all its business segments, followed by solid results from eCards, eKhales, and enable. On a quarterly basis, the Group saw its top-line expand by 52.3% y-o-y to stand at EGP 1,029.3 million at the close of 3Q2023.   Click Here for the full Earnings Release