Omar Saleh is the Founder and CEO of Khazna in 2020 with a mission to improve the financial well-being of 35M+ underbanked Egyptians, who have little access to formal financial services by providing access to convenient, customer-centric, and technology-driven services.
Khazna offers General Purpose Credit, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), and Bill Payment. Khazna’s leadership team is composed of former executives from World Remit, Valeo, Uber, CIB, Jumia, Match Group, and Arqaam Capital.
In 2019, Egypt had a high smartphone penetration rate of around 95%, but half of Egyptians lacked access to formal financial services.
Only 50% of Egyptian adults (30 million) had transactional accounts, such as bank accounts, prepaid cards, or mobile wallets.
Khazna saw a significant opportunity in addressing this gap in financial services due to the large underserved market, the country’s openness to digital solutions, and government/regulator alignment.
Dratech International celebrates Omar Saleh as one of the industry giants who with his influence has reshaped and strengthened the Fintech sector.
This article will shed light on Omar Saleh’s achievement and how he has influenced Africa’s financial technology space. Let’s get into it.
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Omar Saleh`s Background
He is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Khazna, a man with a distinguished background in the fintech and business sectors dotted by strategic roles that epitomized impactful leadership.
Prior to cofounding Khazna in 2019 with co-founders Ahmed Abdel Mageed, Ahmed Hussein, Omar Hazem, and Omar Salah, Saleh held important roles at prestigious organizations such as WorldRemit, where he was instrumental in the company’s expansion into the Middle East and North Africa, and ADES International, where he contributed to hypergrowth post-IPO and raised close to US$400 million in funding.
What sets him apart is that he has a visionary drive to advance financial inclusions for Egypt’s underbanked populations, blending strategic expertise with a mission-driven approach to economic empowerment.
Empowering Micro-Businesses: Khazna’s Role in Entrepreneurial Growth
Khazna was founded by Omar Saleh in 2019 and has indeed been a game-changer to African businesses, especially in Egypt.
This Cairo-based financial super app makes an effort to offer easy-to-use, technology-driven financial services to under-served consumers and micro-businesses.
Khazna targets the 50% of active smartphone users in Egypt who are excluded formally from finance, enabling anyone to have services such as General-Purpose Credit, Buy Now Pay Later, or Bill Payment that help bridge many financial gaps for people and businesses.
It started its life as an Earned Wage Access product to give employees access to their salaries in real time, but it soon expanded into multiple financial services. This route ensures users avoid predatory lenders and manage their finances better.
This approach will help users avoid predatory lenders and manage their finances better.
Khazna provides a set of financial tools focused on the needs of small businesses, making it possible for entrepreneurs to grow and continue their operations.
Khazna supports the Central Bank of Egypt in developing new incentives toward ensuring financial inclusion and a less-cash society.
This then further aligns with national economic goals, ensuring regular support through regulations that give stability to Khazna operations.
Khazna’s Alignment with National Economic Goals
Khazna launched a financial super app providing general credit, BNPL, bill payments among other versatile services. This application targets the active 50% of Egyptian smartphone users who have no access to
Furthermore, it is uprooting informal, cash-driven alternatives and replacing them with digital solutions, with Khazna playing a vital role in digitizing cash transactions across Egypt. This is in line with the Central Bank of Egypt’s drive for financial inclusion, moving toward a less-cash society.
Khazna has raised significant funding, such as the $38 million Series A, to fuel growth and reach Egyptians in either the unbanked or underbanked categories.
It is this funding that actively enables their mission of making financial services convenient, user-centric, and transparent.
Khazna works to make life flow smoothly and seamlessly for its users-a fact that constitutes one of the major success factors behind this rampant growth and leader in the market when it comes to financial inclusion.
Significant Funding Milestones and Growth Plans
Khazna Data Centers have developed several key milestones and recognition globally through their contribution to the data center industry.
It has evolved into the largest hyperscale wholesale data center provider in MENA, with a total of 16 data centers across Abu Dhabi and Dubai³.
In October 2024, Khazna announced that it would build the UAE’s first AI-optimized data center in Ajman. The 100MW facility is going to be functional by Q3 2025 and will serve the needs of high computing power and scalability for AI applications.
Khazna is committed to being sustainable through the implementation of state-of-the-art cooling techniques to energy-efficient modular designs. More importantly, they do not use diesel for their operations.
The new data center focused on AI has been regarded as opening up highly skilled employment opportunities in the fields of AI, as the UAE ensures a leading position for itself in the business, AI, and innovation hub.
Omar Saleh’s Strategic Partnerships: Expanding Khazna’s Reach and Influence
Omar Saleh is globally renowned for his leadership and strategic vision while leading businesses in the fintech industry.
In 2020, he co-founded Khazna-a mobile financial app whose design and innovative technologies have gained more than 300 partnerships and 500,000 active users to improve financial inclusions among Egypt’s underbanked population and micro-businesses.
He earlier held senior strategic positions at WorldRemit and ADES International.
At WorldRemit, he led the company’s expansion into the Middle East and North Africa. In ADES, he was in charge of much of the post-IPO growth of the company, raising nearly US$400 million.
Omar’s dream is to bring technology to bear on a line of financial services that are simple, transparent, and accessible to all and have really made deep inroads into increasing financial inclusion within the region.
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The Socio-Economic Impact of Khazna on Egypt’s Economy
Omar Saleh is dedicated to developing an enabling environment for underbanked populations and micro-businesses in Egypt.
His mobile financial application, Khazna therefore brought into the world an easy and transparent platform for finances, boasting of over 300 partnerships and 500,000 users.
Before Khazna, he held strategic positions in both WorldRemit and ADES International, where he spearheaded the expansion of WorldRemit into the Middle East and North Africa, while at ADES, he spearheaded post-IPO growth, securing close to $400 million in investment¹.
Through driving financial inclusion and supporting micro-businesses, Saleh has contributed to the broader growth of Africa’s tech ecosystem.
He helped create an inclusive financial environment that nurtures innovation and entrepreneurship across the continent.
Indeed, Omar Saleh’s work best describes how targeted fintech solutions can drive significant socio-economic change; hence, he is a key figure in Africa’s tech landscape.
FAQs
What is Omar Saleh’s mission with Khazna?
Omar Saleh’s mission is to improve financial access for over 35 million underbanked Egyptians by offering accessible, customer-centric, and technology-driven financial services.
What services does Khazna offer?
Khazna provides General Purpose Credit, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) solutions, and Bill Payment services to its customers.
What is unique about Khazna’s leadership team?
Khazna’s leadership team consists of former executives from renowned companies like World Remit, Uber, CIB, Jumia, and Arqaam Capital, bringing vast experience in technology and finance.
How does Khazna contribute to financial inclusion in Egypt?
By offering affordable and accessible digital financial services, Khazna helps underbanked Egyptians gain access to credit and essential financial tools, fostering greater financial inclusion.
Conclusion
Khazna leadership shows a serious commitment toward better financial inclusion for millions of underbanked Egyptians.
By solving the basic pain points in the financial lives of the majority through general-purpose credit, BNPL, bill payment accessibility, and friendly customer services. With an executive team filled with global company leaders,
Khazna is about to cause some financial disruption in Egypt. His vision, therefore, was one that ensured the use of technology to empower underserved communities and rewrote the very face of financial inclusion into broader economic development and inclusion for Egypt’s underbanked population.
References
Egyptian financial super app Khazna raises $38 million Series A
