As part of the IPO, responsAbility Investments and Helios Investment Partners, have completed partial exits of their stakes in Fawry, Egyptian provider of payment services to more than 20 million clients across all segments of the population.

Fawry has raised EGP1.6bn (approximately $96m) in its initial public offering (IPO) on the Egyptian Exchange.

“We are delighted to see such strong investor interest in Fawry’s success story,” said Michael Fiebig, Head of Financial Institutions Equity at responsAbility and Board Director at Fawry.

“Fawry has been building out a uniquely wide and deep digital financial services eco-system that benefits over 20 million clients. We are thrilled to see strengthened Egyptian ownership in the company through the successful public listing on the Cairo stock exchange. We will continue to support the further expansion of the company, which is leading the way for innovation in the Egyptian financial sector.”

As a shareholder of Fawry since 2017, the responsAbility-managed private equity fund has been actively supporting the business in close partnership with the Fawry management team, particularly focusing on building out its lending business.

The IPO will open shareholding to the Egyptian public, where Fawry has become a household name, with over 40% growth last year alone.

Local banks will also be able to further benefit from Fawry’s strong digital platform, which enables the supply of financial services to an even broader section of the population.

Fawry reached its current status by offering a pioneering e-payment network in Egypt.

With more than 111,000 locations, this network enables access to financial services for consumers and businesses via a wide range of e-payment services including bill payment, charging of mobile phones and meters, payment of insurance premiums, on loans and credit cards through point-of-sales devices, ATMs and e-wallets.

The company also offers bank agent services, cash management and collections solutions, and supplies e-payments, microfinance and insurance brokerage.

Currently, over 20 million clients use Fawry’s services for more than 2.1 million transactions per day.

Ashraf Sabry, CEO of Fawry, said: “Our vision was always about improving the day to day lives of people all across Egypt. By providing much needed financial services, we accomplished that. Therefore, this public listing is not only a major milestone but also an extension of our initial vision, allowing us to continue to improve lives and to partner even more closely with Egyptian people and businesses.”