Cartona raises $12M Series A! We are thrilled to extend our support to the team at Cartona! The company’s asset-light, holistic model allows them to bring efficiency to Egypt’s traditional trade market, and financially include hundreds of thousands of stakeholders, from small shops to distributors. Read more here!
Nowpay partners with Pepsico! With this partnership, NowPay is realizing its mission to enable employee financial wellness in the world's largest companies. We congratulate the team on continuously demonstrating strong execution, humility and adaptability, and excited to be with them on this journey!
Paymob launches its mobile app!The application allows anyone to accept payments for products and services on the go. Designed for versatility, the Paymob app allows merchants to choose to use their mobile phone as a mini point of sale to collect payments with Paymob Tap, generate a QR code for customers to pay using their digital wallets, or send customers a payment link to pay remotely. Learn more here!
DIFC Selects Tarabut Gateway as MENA’s First Open Finance Lab Partner! Tarabut Gateway’s participation is the latest milestone in the company’s leading and enabling role at the heart of the region’s Open Banking ecosystem and follows the consistent support it has received from the DFSA. It follows the recent announcement of the start-up being the first regulated Open Banking platform to be licensed by the DFSA. Read more here!
Cartona now serves 60,000+ merchants and has processed over 1 million transactions with an annualized gross merchandise value of $120 million. The company has more than 1,500 distributors and wholesalers on its platform and 200 FMCG companies, including big names like Unilever and Henkel.
Mahmoud Abdel-Fattah, Mahmoud Talaat, Rafik Zaher
Co-founders of Cartona
Thoughts Localizing Sustainability for Emerging Markets
Sustainability is an expansive concept. In its broadest sense, it is about meeting our needs without compromising future generations’ ability to meet their own. This definition, however, requires a local nuance since the specific challenges, limitations, and needs differ across contexts… as does the solution. What does sustainability mean in emerging markets?
ESG in finance is more than an approach to investments; it is founded in making capital work for us and our future rather than the other way around. ESG-focused FinTechs have the potential to grow rapidly, innovate ESG-oriented solutions, and raise capital to strengthen their environmental and social contribution – all while offering high returns. They also play a central role in accelerating the way to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Learn more here!
The next generation of companies need to be built sustainably, factoring in the environmental and social consequences of their operations. At its core, good governance is about building a framework for decision-making; good environment and social governance practices become the bedrock of how organizations are managed. So if it’s so important, why are these conversations so difficult? What’s currently not working? Sacha shares her thoughts.
