Egypt's Commercial International Bank (CIB) is launching the country's first venture capital arm to focus squarely on investment in fintech startups.
CVentures will pre-dominantly participate in Series A and Series B investment rounds in Egypt, the Middle East, Africa in addition to considering Seed investment rounds across similar markets.
Hussein Abaza, CIB CEO and CVentures chairman says: “CIB has always had a clear vision towards the importance of entrepreneurship. The establishment of CVentures is a continuation of such vision; evidence of CIB’s profound commitment towards supporting the development of the Egyptian Financial Sector. The founding of a Venture Capital firm focused on fintech comes at a very exciting time for the Egyptian economy where all stakeholders are encouraged to support the government’s strategic direction towards Financial Inclusion."
CIB is following a path well-trodden by major banks the world over, who have set up similar fintech venture arms in a bid to embrace fresh ideas from the startup community.
Indeed, fintech collaboration is now becoming a mainstream practice among the world's top banks. In it's latest annual risk assessment report, the European Banking Authority found that fully 60% of of EU banks are planning to increase their investments in startups in the next 12 months.