The archive · Money & Fintech · Strategic decision · 2018–2026
Lucky's bet: rewards bring Egyptians in, credit makes the business
Cashback brought Egyptians into Lucky's app; its bet was that they would borrow there too, turning an 8M-user rewards network into a profitable credit platform.
Lucky
What the business is
Lucky is an Egyptian consumer fintech that started as an app for offers, discounts and cashback usable in person and online across more than 20,000 local and global brands, then added consumer credit: instalments and flexible financing, a payments card, and infrastructure being prepared for PSP licensing and neo-banking.
Starting capital：$25M Series A announced March 2022, led by Nclude Fintech Fund by Global Ventures with PayU, Endeavor Catalyst, Venture Souq, OTF Jasoor Ventures, Arzan Capital and Disruptech Ventures. A $23M Series B closed April 2026, mixing equity and debt, led by Disruptech Ventures and DPI Venture Capital via Nclude, with Suez Canal Bank and OneStop as strategic participants.
How it started
Momtaz Moussa and Ayman Essawy founded Lucky in 2018, betting that a young, largely unbanked population in a cash-dominated economy would adopt an app that paid them back: cashback, offers and discounts across brands they already shopped. By the March 2022 Series A, the founders described MENA's unbanked youth and cash economy as the market opportunity the round was built to capture.
What happened
Lucky grew to more than eight million registered users and Egypt's largest merchant network, with 250% year-on-year GMV growth by early 2022, and expanded into Morocco. The $25M Series A led by Nclude was earmarked to build out credit capabilities and market share; through 2025 the company reported 3x annual growth and reached profitability by the end of the year.
How it ended up
In April 2026 Lucky closed a $23M Series B combining equity and debt, led by Disruptech Ventures and DPI Venture Capital via Nclude, with Suez Canal Bank and OneStop joining; tech investor Mohamed Farouk was appointed chairman. The round funds scaling credit across North Africa plus infrastructure and PSP-licensing work toward a neo-banking-ready platform, as Egypt's central bank pushes digital onboarding and financial inclusion.
Background
Lucky is an Egyptian consumer fintech founded in 2018 by Momtaz Moussa and Ayman Essawy. It began as an app for offers, discounts and cashback usable in person and online across more than 20,000 local and global brands, growing to over eight million registered users and Egypt's largest merchant network, with 250% year-on-year GMV growth and an early move into Morocco.
The founders' thesis was that MENA's huge unbanked, young population and cash-dominated economy made rewards a distribution wedge, not the business itself. Lucky's $25M Series A in March 2022, led by Nclude Fintech Fund by Global Ventures with PayU, Endeavor Catalyst, Venture Souq, OTF Jasoor Ventures, Arzan Capital and Disruptech Ventures, was explicitly earmarked to build out credit capabilities.
The credit push worked at scale: Lucky reported 3x annual growth in 2025 and profitability by the end of that year. Its stack spans instalments and flexible financing, a card that works anywhere, and work toward PSP licensing and neo-banking readiness as Egypt's regulator opens digital onboarding.
In April 2026 Lucky closed a $23M Series B mixing equity and debt, led by Disruptech Ventures and DPI Venture Capital via Nclude, with Suez Canal Bank and OneStop as strategic investors and Mohamed Farouk appointed chairman. The capital is earmarked to scale credit across North Africa and strengthen risk and payments infrastructure.
What has to be true
- Lucky attacked a structural gap: a young, largely unbanked population in a cash economy, where incumbents had little data and little appetite for small consumer loans.
- The rewards network paid for distribution in cashback rather than pure marketing spend, and generated transaction data that became raw material for credit underwriting.
- Series A investors funded the credit build-out while the app was still growing fast, so Lucky expanded lending before profitability was required.
- Egypt's regulatory tailwinds — digital onboarding and new PSP licensing — gave a clear path from rewards app to regulated credit and neo-banking platform.
What can be applied
Make yourself the daily habit first: Lucky's rewards network was the acquisition engine, and the transaction data it produced became the underwriting edge when the company turned to credit.
Aftermath
Lucky is scaling as a profitable Egyptian consumer-credit platform: 3x growth and profitability in 2025, a $23M Series B in April 2026, and tech investor Mohamed Farouk as chairman. The plan is to expand credit across North Africa, complete PSP licensing and reach neo-banking readiness as Egypt pushes digital inclusion. Risks include banks and telco wallets moving into consumer credit, credit losses as the book grows, and the regulatory cost of new markets.
Sources
- Egypt's Lucky secures $23 million Series B to expand in North Africa
- Egyptian financial services super app Lucky raises $25m Series A funding
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