Oliv receives Egypt’s 1st digital factoring license from FRA
Updated 12/16/2024 8:28:00 AM
Arab Finance: oliv, a digital invoice financing company, has secured Egypt’s first digital factoring license from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), according to a press release.
This step marks the first business lending license to be issued under fintech Law No. 5 for 2022 and the FRA’s decree 268 for 2023, designated for venture-backed fintech companies.
The license will enable oliv to provide Egyptian businesses with fully digital factoring and reverse-factoring services.
Studies indicate that the small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) sector remains significantly underserved, reflecting a remarkable funding gap of $39 billion.
SMEs’ contribution to Egypt’s gross domestic product (GDP) stands at nearly 43%, controlling more than 75% of the total employment in the Egyptian market.
In favor of addressing this gap, oliv’s first product secures invoice financing for SMEs that use the Tax Authority e-invoicing platform in less than 48 hours. It involves minimal manual interactions and does not need technology requirements from clients.
The CEO of oliv, Ziad Mokhtar, said: “A growing digital footprint is being created for hundreds of thousands of businesses preparing them for receiving digital financial services.”
Hatem Sabry, oliv’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), commented: “This unique license allows us to directly finance SMEs from our balance sheet with the simplest and fastest digital experience in the market.”
“We are currently in strategic partnership discussions with several local banks and venture debt providers to diversify our funding sources and further support local SMEs with our innovative product,” Sabry added.
Meanwhile, oliv aims to offer its factoring services to over 5,000 clients by 2028.
As per FRA reports, the size of the factoring industry in Egypt hit EGP 44 billion in 2023, with only 605 clients served. This represents less than 0.3% of GDP, which is 10 times smaller than similar markets.
Hence, oliv will boost this industry by democratizing access to working capital financing and allowing SMEs a fair chance to grow their business.
Founded in 2024, oliv is a fintech company focused on financing SMEs while overcoming working capital challenges.
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