(Ecofin Agency) - Egypt, has since January 2022, been one of the three prime targets for investments in the African fintech industry. According to data collected by Ecofin Agency, the country’s fintech industry received a combined US$51.4 million in financing for firms at various development stages.

That amount does not include recent fundraising operations announced by firms like Nigeria’s CredPal (US$15 million) and Chrupy (US$1 million) that plan to expand into the Egyptian market. It does not also include the US$85 million fund launched by three public banks and partners to target the fintech industry.

Investors’ attraction to Egypt’s fintech industry seems to have been spurred by the recent expansion of digital services in the country, which is the second-most populated in Africa after Nigeria.

From 2017 to date, over 300 financial transactions targetting startups active in Egypt have been disclosed. In such a booming ecosystem, there is the rising need for digital payment and funding solutions.

In the first quarter of 2022, the volume of investment into Egypt’s fintech industry exceeded the US$32 million received by Kenya, a highly digitized country. Overall, US$698.36 million have been invested in the African fintech industry since January 1, 2022.  This amount does not include the transactions whose values were not disclosed.

During the period, Nigeria received the highest volume of fintech investments with over US$419.8 million. It was followed by South Africa where US$78.3 million was invested in the fintech industry.