Egypt-based digital investment platform Thndr secured $20m yesterday in a series A round co-led by internet group Prosus as it looks to boost access to investment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Tiger Global Management and Beco Capital also co-led the round, which included Firstminute Capital, Base Capital, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Jimco and Raba Partnerships while Prosus invested through subsidiary Prosus Ventures.
Founded in 2020, Thndr operates a mobile-based platform allowing users to invest in stocks, bonds and funds. It said its assets under custody have grown by 29-fold over the course of 2021, with 87% of users on the platform being first-time investors and 40% located in rural areas.
The proceeds from the round will be used to further develop the company’s platform and expand across the MENA region. It claims to have accounted for 36% of all new registrations in local exchanges in Egypt in 2021.
The deal highlights an increasing flow of funding to digital investment platforms in emerging economies or markets that have traditionally been underserved, following in the footsteps of larger companies like Robinhood or eToro.
Earlier this week, Vietnam-headquartered Infina closed a $6m seed round featuring Saison Capital, an investment vehicle for Japan-based payment services firm Credit Saison.
Internet and telecommunications group SoftBank invested in a $153m series B round for Indonesia-based Ajaib, which lets users invest in stocks and mutual funds, through its SoftBank Ventures Asia subsidiary in October 2021.
Chaka Technologies, the Nigeria-based operator of a platform covering stocks, ETFs and other instruments, closed a $1.5m pre-seed round in July 2021, becoming the first company in Nigeria to gain a license from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Pakistan-headquartered stock brokerage KASB, which operates the KTrade stock trading app, had secured $4.5m the previous month, in a round co-led by TTB Partners and VC HOF Capital. India-based digital stockbroking platform developer Upstox raised $25m in a 2019 round backed by Tiger Global.
Prosus Ventures’ head of European investments, Sandeep Bakshi, said: “Compared to other developed regions, the opportunity in MENA for equity brokerage is more complex for an international player to capture given the regional fragmentation, cultural nuances and regulatory framework.
“Thndr is in a unique position to execute on this massive opportunity. We believe the company’s mission is part of a transformative era for fintech in the region, enabling a larger and younger population of individuals to access equity capital markets.”
