American fintech marketplace Ramses has Chris Skinner joining as a founding partner as it prepares to launch its business in Egypt and Sudan.

Chris Skinner, a British expert on the financial markets and fintech and the author of bestselling books on the topics, has joined the US-based fintech Ramses as a co-founder.

Ramses is developing a fintech marketplace for Africa and the Middle East. The startup aims to establish its business model in Egypt and Sudan in 2024 and enter new markets across Africa and the Middle East in 2025.

The marketplace is API-based, able to integrate into all types of financial activities e.g. payments, BNPL, insurance or insurtech, money transfers, remittances, stock trading, lending, currency exchange, and more.

According to the press release, Ramses is already collaborating with eight Egyptian fintech companies heading to its official launch. In addition, the startup has established partnerships with 28 companies in the fintech and banking segment outside of Egypt, across Africa and the Arab Gulf countries.

Chris Skinner admires the growth and potential of the Egyptian technology market. According to his latest report, Egyptian fintech investments multiplied by 28.7 times in the past 3 years, hitting a milestone in 2022, with a total of $796.5 million invested in local financial technologies.

Besides, the number of fintech startups in Egypt rose from two in 2014 to 112 in 2021. Currently, there are 177 fintech and fintech-enabled startups and Payment Service Providers (PSPs) operating in Egypt. Out of those, 139 startups provide pure FinTech solutions, and 38 provide tech solutions, along with embedded finance.

Along with the existing impressive growth in the local fintech market, Egypt “serves as a gateway for expansion into other markets, both within Africa and the Middle East,” says Mr Skinner.