Unlocking Financial Access in Egypt

🎧 Listen on Spotify + watch on YouTube I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Karl Marco, co-founder of Octo, an Egyptian fintech startup providing digital financial services, on my podcast. Karl shared invaluable lessons on building a fintech company from the ground up in Egypt. Here are some of the key takeaways from our conversation:* Octo aims to provide financial services to the unbanked and underbanked population in Egypt, offering a digital payment solution and a credit line combined in one.* The market in Egypt is largely untapped, with only 24 million out of 110 million Egyptians having bank accounts.* Octo focuses on the B segment, targeting employed individuals who are banked but lack access to formal credit.* The biggest challenge for Octo has been navigating the regulatory regime in Egypt and overcoming resistance to change in the financial industry.* Building a strong team that shares the vision and culture of the company is crucial for Octo's success.* Octo's plans for growth and expansion are focused on becoming a market leader in Egypt before considering expansion to other markets with similar financial structures and socioeconomic conditions.Startup Istanbul is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Check out these news articles and Substacks.How to Write for a LivingVenture CuratorThe Hybrid Hacker Get full access to Startup Istanbul at newsletter.startupistanbul.com/subscribe