Telda
“Can a CBE-licensed mobile-first money app become the consolidated financial OS — payments, card, savings, lending, and investing — for Egypt's young, largely unbanked population?”
Founded2021
HQCairo, Egypt
FoundersAhmed Sabbah, Youssef Sholqamy
Total raised$25M+
Latest roundSeed, 2022
IndustryFintech / Consumer banking
The story
Telda launched in 2021 as a CBE-licensed consumer money app for Egypt's largely unbanked population, partnering with Banque du Caire and Mastercard to issue a prepaid card. From a Sequoia-backed P2P+card product, the company is expanding into a multi-product financial ecosystem: in 2026 it added EGX stock and fund trading (a regional first to combine payments, card and securities in one app) and won FRA approval to enter consumer finance / lending.
Product timeline
2021
Founded by ex-Swvl CTO Ahmed Sabbah and ex-Uber engineer Youssef Sholqamy; obtained CBE license under new fintech regulations.· banking
2021
Raised $5M pre-seed led by Sequoia — largest pre-seed in MENA at the time.· banking
2022
Launched consumer money app with Mastercard cobranded prepaid card via Banque du Caire.· card
2022
Raised $20M seed from GFC, Sequoia and Block (Square).· banking
2026
Launched securities investing — direct EGX stock and fund trading inside the app.· lending
2026
FRA granted consumer finance approval, enabling Telda to enter lending.· lending
Regulated entities
Consumer Finance License
Egypt (FRA) · 2026
Telda
Payments License (CBE)
Egypt (Central Bank of Egypt) · 2021
Telda
The stack
Payments / PSP
Banking / BaaS
Card issuing
Lending
Sponsor bank
Accounting gap: none