MNT Halan: from ride-hailing to fintech unicorn

Just a quick note before we get into this week’s edition.

Since starting FWDstart nearly a year and a half ago, MNT-Halan, has been right at the top of our shortlist of companies to receive the full long-form, in-depth deep dive treatment.

And it just so happens that a couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate to get the chance to sit down with Mounir Nakhla, MNT-Halan’s founder and CEO.

So, while a long-form deep dive tracing the company’s origins, evolution, and future vision is still very much in the works (targeting early summer 2025 – hold me to that!), I didn’t want to wait that long to share this conversation.

Hi friends! 👋

MNT-Halan has a circuitous, winding history – and it all started with tuk-tuks.

After founding two of Egypt’s most successful microfinance businesses – Mashroey and Tasaheel – Mounir Nakhla launched Halan in 2017 as a mobility app focused on motorcycles and tuk-tuks, the backbone of Egypt’s informal economy.

But as the business grew, it became clear that mobility alone couldn’t deliver sustainable unit economics.

So he and co-founder and CTO Ahmed Mohsen decided to change course.

They scaled back investment in ride-hailing and delivery, and refocused the team on financial services – with Mashroey and Tasaheel in mind.

That pivot led to a full reconfiguration of the business.

In 2021, MNT-Halan was born: an integrated fintech platform built on proprietary core banking software, combining lending, a licensed digital wallet, payments, and e-commerce.

By 2023, it had 5 million customers, 1.3 million monthly active users, and a $1 billion+ valuation.

More recently, the company has pursued growth through acquisitions – integrating platforms like Talabeyah for FMCG and e-commerce in Egypt, and expanding internationally through deals like Tam Finans in Turkey ($150 million) and Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank.

In this interview, Mounir and I unpack the strategy behind that evolution – from localising credit models and acquiring licensed platforms to embedding culture at scale.

In our interview, we covered:

• 🏘️ How microfinance in Egypt’s informal economy revealed the scale of untapped financial demand

• 📊 Why standard credit models fail in emerging markets – and how MNT-Halan builds locally grounded alternatives

• 🔁 The logic behind a multi-product ecosystem, and how usage data shapes product rollouts

• 🤝 What made Tam Finans and Advans Pakistan strong acquisition targets – and how integration actually works

• 🏦 Why a banking license isn’t always the endgame – and how MNT-Halan evaluates where it fits (and where it doesn’t)

• 🌍 How remittance flows between the GCC, Egypt, and Pakistan are shaping a new generation of fintech products

• 🧭 How MNT-Halan is scaling culture across borders – embedding founder values inside acquired teams and new markets

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Actionable insights 🧠 🛠️

If you only have a few minutes to spare, here's what investors, operators, and founders should know about MNT-Halan and scaling fintech.

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Okay, let’s dig into it 👇

Although tuk-tuks have often been the driving force of your ventures, if you pardon the pun, the real constant theme underpinning everything has been expanding the scope of services to underserved markets. What were the influences that shaped your perspective on addressing financial exclusion and serving underserved communities?

I grew up in Zamalek, Cairo. I attended an international school where I learned English before moving to London to study at the London School of Economics. During my postgraduate studies, I focused on development and the environment, driven by a desire to help future generations.

At the same time, my uncle was working in sustainable development in the 1980s and 1990s. His consulting firm, in partnership with USAID, introduced microfinance to Egypt. During my undergraduate years, I conducted my dissertation on the impact of microfinance. As I traveled across Egypt’s governorates, I saw entire communities living in unfinished red-brick buildings, yet thriving with economic activity in their streets. Inside microfinance branches, I witnessed millions of pounds changing hands daily. This showed me the scale of Egypt’s informal economy and the immense opportunity it held.

Seeing those red-brick buildings excited me because they represented untapped potential. When I studied microfinance, I saw firsthand how financial inclusion changed lives.

One person once told me that access to finance can be more critical than access to infrastructure or electricity. Whether it’s funding a business, covering medical expenses, paying for a wedding, or smoothing out consumption, credit plays a transformative role in people’s lives. In developing economies, household debt-to-GDP ratios are in the single or low double digits. In contrast, in developed economies, it often exceeds 70%, largely driven by mortgage debt. Most people in developing economies own their homes outright, freeing up capital for other needs.

In Egypt, for a population of 100 million, only 14 to 15 million people are borrowers. Compare this to Turkey, where there are more credit cards than people. However, even in Turkey, small and micro businesses struggle to access finance. Each market has its unique financial gap, and banks often fail to bridge it. Credit is inherently a local business – you can’t apply the same credit policies, approval processes, and scoring models across different countries. Identifying the right niche is key.

Over time, I realised that focusing on the customer is more important than just the product. A superior customer experience fosters loyalty, improves unit economics, and increases retention. This led us to build an entire financial ecosystem around our customers – not just offering credit but also investment opportunities, high-interest daily savings, and brokerage services. We even launched an e-commerce platform and an in-app game that engages 300,000–400,000 users regularly.

Financial services typically don’t involve daily interactions like social media does. Most financial transactions happen monthly or quarterly, except for payments. This is why we decided to introduce cards as part of our offering. Since we began issuing them, we’ve seen a massive increase in retention, usage, and transaction frequency. Now, we’re doubling down on that investment.

You once said: “If you need a loan for your business, we’ll give you one. Need a loan for consumption? We’ve got you covered. Want to buy a mobile phone? We’ll deliver it – and finance the purchase within the ecosystem.”

What drove the decision to build an integrated financial ecosystem rather than focusing solely on lending? And how does MNT-Halan’s broad, multi-solution approach stack up against competitors that specialise in specific verticals?

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