👨🏿‍🚀TechCabal Daily – MNT-Halan’s fourth expansion

Egyptian Unicorn MNT-Halan Expands to UAE

Egyptian unicorn, MNT-Halan, is expanding its services to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) market. Its first offering, “Halan Advance,” allows employees to access a portion of their salary in advance.

Building on its success in Egypt, Turkey, and Pakistan, MNT-Halan plans to introduce credit, payments, and investment products to the Gulf region subsequently. MNT-Halan has been prepping fopr this expansion since April 2024, partnering with employers and acquiring over 40,000 customers.

The company, which provides financial services, including loans, and e-commerce services, aims to serve the UAE’s 3.7 million underbanked individuals by leveraging the country’s strong economy and high smartphone adoption. 

Since it was founded in 2018, it has issued over $4.4 billion in loans and has 2.2 million quarterly active users. In 2022, MNT-Halan surpassed $300 million in gross revenue. 

After attaining unicorn status, the company has focused on expansion. In March 2024, it acquired Advans Group in Pakistan, a microfinance bank with over 62,000 clients and 19 branches. Later, in July, MNT-Halan acquired Tam Finans, a Turkish company, to enhance its micro-lending and factoring services.

The expansion follows MNT-Halan’s $157.5 million funding round and its entry into the Turkish market in July. The funds aim to fuel the company’s growth beyond Egypt. 

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Yesterday, Nigeria recorded its highest inflation figures in 2024.

The National Bureau of Statistics announced a 34.60% inflation rate for November, up from 33.8% recorded in October 2024. 

November’s inflation figure was largely due to increases in transport and food prices. Although Nigeria’s harvest season helped ease food prices, flooding in key agricultural states like Borno and increased transportation costs due to a fuel hike have reversed those gains. The country’s failure to implement a 150-day waiver on food imports also quickened food inflation.

Analysts predict that Nigeria’s inflation may peak in the coming months, closely followed by a start of disinflation due to the waning influence of fuel subsidy removal and naira devaluation.

Despite multiple rate hikes to curb inflation, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also anticipates a decline in inflation by the second half of 2024 and a potential interest rate reduction in the second half of 2025.

CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso has previously expressed the bank’s goal of achieving a positive real interest rate to stimulate investment and strengthen the naira. Economists also expects the CBN to proceed with gradual interest rate cuts from Q2 next year, predicting a 400 basis point cut to 23.5% by the end of 2025.