Ahmed Zaki focuses on boosting financing access for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt. After working in banking, he co-founded Flend to test digital tools that meet the cash flow needs of smaller companies.
Ahmed Zaki, an Egyptian entrepreneur and CEO of Flend, is leading this Cairo-based startup that creates digital financing solutions tailored for SMEs.
Founded in 2022 by Ahmed Zaki, Nehal Helmy, and Saif Edeen El Bendari, Flend provides fully digital short-term cash loans. The platform handles every step—from registration and credit scoring to electronic signatures and installment collection.
Flend links with over twenty technical partners that manage SME value chains across agro-industry, e-commerce, manufacturing, retail, and export. The Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority officially recognizes Flend as a digital non-bank financial institution.
The startup recently raised $3 million in a seed round that combines equity and debt financing, led by Egypt Ventures. Ahmed Zaki said, “This round allows us to finance SMEs where they do business—within the platforms that drive Egypt’s economy.” He added, "We’ve seen rising demand and are ready to scale our reach."
Flend, Egypt’s pioneering digital lending platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has successfully closed a $3 million seed funding round to digitally transform SME lending in Egypt.
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Ahmed Zaki earned a bachelor's degree in international business from the Modern University for Business and Science in Egypt in 2006. He later completed a master’s in financial mathematics at The George Washington University School of Business in the United States in 2017.
He began his career in 2007 at Arab Bank as a corrective loans manager. In 2010, he joined CIB Egypt bank, serving as a market risk specialist, credit analyst, business analysis manager, and commercial analysis director during his tenure.
This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba
Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum
