Contact Financial Holding, non-bank consumer finance provider, has invested $9 million in the ecommerce super-app Wasla. The startup is planning to introduce a new range of products and options including buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) financing and online payment option.

Wasla was founded in 2018 by Serag Meneassy, Taymour Sabry and Mahmoud El Said. Wasla previously raised $1.2 million in funding from a round led by funding by Egypt Ventures, Glint Ventures, and Ebtikar for Financial Investments.

Wasla is the first emerging markets mobile web browser and desktop extension optimized for online shopping. The startup aims to help clients save money online through aggregated deals, discounts, and cashbacks for a network of over 100 local and regional e-commerce merchants.

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Contact is set to bring in its experience in consumer finance and technology including its advanced credit services platform, to help Wasla extend financing to shoppers. Contact is said to be among the first financial services platforms to introduce advanced credit scoring and collection mechanisms in Egypt.

In 2020, Wasla browser reached one million users and hits#3 on Google Play. They currently have 1.5 million downloads and has experienced 8.5 times year on year growth in total e-commerce traffic since inception.

The e-commerce startup is also set for regional expansion, with immediate plans to enter Nigeria currently underway.