12 Fintech start-ups selected for Finance Forward MENA 2020
Twelve early-stage fintech startups from MENA have been selected to take part in Village Capital’s accelerator, Finance Forward MENA 2020, part of a multi-year global coalition led by founding partners MetLife Foundation and PayPal to support entrepreneurs building tech-enabled solutions to challenges around financial health.
The twelve startups in the cohort that are improving financial health in MENA (Middle East and North Africa) include: Bilforon (Jordan), Buyback Bazaar Technology (UAE), Datacultr Fintech Limited (UAE), Distichain (UAE), PayMint (Egypt), E-Bursum (Turkey), HubPay (UAE), Khazna Tech (Egypt), Markit (Lebanon), Valify Solutions (Egypt), We-Settle (Tunisia), WorqCompany (Turkey).
The accelerator will provide the startups with five weeks of online and in-person training focused on improving their business models and making their financial health solutions available to those who need them most in the current economic climate. Each startup selected for the accelerator will also work closely with mentors, potential clients and partners, as well as investors they need to scale their impact, using tools developed to help their self-evaluation, such as Village Capital’s Abaca. In addition, the top five, peer-selected, companies will be eligible to share $150,000 USD in grant funding from MetLife Foundation.
The program received applications from entrepreneurs operating across the region, with selected companies coming from Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, the UAE and Turkey. The cohort was selected with guidance from the Finance Forward MENA’s Advisory Board, as well as local partner,Beyond Capital.
