MBH advises Blnk on the Securitization of a Multi-Issuance Program
Fintech startup Blnk has raised USD23.7 million in equity and debt funding, and USD8.3 million in securitized bond issuance to accelerate financial inclusion within underserved communities across the country. The funds will support further development of Blnk’s Artificial Intelligence-powered lending infrastructure and the financing of the company’s fast-growing portfolio of customers.
The combined pre-seed and seed funding rounds of USD12.5 million was led by Abu Dhabi’s Emirates International Investment Company (“EIIC”) and Egypt-based, venture capital firm Sawari Ventures, with participation from several prominent local and international angel investors. The USD11.2 million debt funding was secured from a number of local banks. The USD8.3 million securitised bond issuance was underwritten by National Bank of Egypt and Banque du Caire.
Blnk is an AI-enabled digital consumer finance platform that is driving financial inclusion in the Middle East and North Africa through innovative technology solutions. Starting in Egypt, Blnk empowers merchants with an onboarding and instant credit-underwriting technology to provide financing for their customers at the point of sale
Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy (“MBH”) acted as legal counsel to Blnk in connection with the securitization bonds issuance through a multi-issuance program totalling EGP 2 billion (USD81.28 million) over a three-year period, including the first issuance of USD8.3 million.
The MBH team advising on the securitization was led by Mahmoud S. Bassiouny (regional managing partner and group head of finance & projects, pictured left), Mohamed Abdel Fattah (partner and head of capital markets, pictured center), and Ahmed Mohie (counsel, pictured right), and included as well Khaled Abdul Wahab (senior associate), Abdallah Soliman (associate), Habiba El Naggar (junior associate), Aya Omar (junior associate), Reem Elwesemy (junior associate).