Agel

What Agel does

Agel is an Egyptian Islamic fintech founded in 2021 that operates a Sharia-compliant buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platform for small retail and wholesale traders, primarily in the clothing and accessories segment. The company's core product is a self-serve mobile application (available on Google Play Store) that facilitates Murabaha-based trade financing — a sale contract structure with a pre-agreed profit margin — between wholesalers and retailers, with no bank account required. The platform addresses a cash-flow mismatch in the supply chain: retail traders receive goods on installment the same day, while wholesalers receive payment within 24 hours.

The underlying technology is a mobile-first platform with contract management infrastructure built around Islamic Murabaha principles, plus features such as branch-level sales tracking for wholesalers. Agel is pursuing a non-banking financial institution license in Egypt and has announced a strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) to launch a co-branded merchant banking card.

Agel generates revenue through Murabaha margins on installment transactions, a transaction-fee model. The company employs 11–50 staff, is headquartered in Cairo (Maadi district) with an Alexandria branch, and serves unbanked SMB traders across Egypt's two largest cities. The pre-seed round closed in June 2023 was led by +VC, Seedstars International Ventures, and Flat6labs, with participation from Banque Misr, SEEDRA Ventures, ADIB, and angel investors. Founders are credited with 50+ years of combined experience in business development, finance, technology, and manufacturing.

Name

Agel

Legal name

Agel Company for Electronic Payment Services (شركه آجل لخدمات الدفع الإلكترونى)

Website

https://agel.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Agel is an Egyptian Islamic fintech providing Sharia-compliant, Murabaha-based buy-now-pay-later services through a mobile app to unbanked small retail and wholesale traders, primarily in clothing and accessories, in Cairo and Alexandria.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Islamic Trade Financing

akta.pro primary industry

Cash Advance (Online & Storefront) (FSAKAMAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Marketplace / Platform Acquiring (PayFac & Sub-Merchant Management) (FSAMABAF)

Keywords

• Islamic trade financing
• Sharia-compliant BNPL
• Retailer credit platform
• Murabaha invoice financing
• Merchant mobile payments

Headquarters

HQ city

Cairo

HQ country

Egypt

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Murabaha Margin: Revenue generated through Murabaha Islamic financing contracts where Agel charges a pre-agreed profit margin on goods purchased by retailers on installment terms.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Agel operates a Sharia-compliant (Islamic Murabaha) trade financing platform delivered through a mobile application, enabling small retail traders in Egypt to purchase inventory on installment without a bank account, while guaranteeing wholesalers payment within 24 hours. The platform organizes the transaction and installment relationship between wholesale and retail merchants using pre-agreed profit-margin sale contracts.

Product overview

Agel is an Islamic fintech platform operating as a single unified mobile application that provides Sharia-compliant buy-now-pay-later services. The platform connects wholesale and retail traders, enabling retailers to obtain goods on credit with flexible installment payments while offering wholesalers working capital and branch sales management tools. The company is structured as a single core product—the Agel mobile application—which facilitates Murabaha-based (Islamic sales contract) transactions between traders, with plans to expand into broader financial services including a co-branded banking card.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Agel Mobile Application

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ADIB (Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023Agel is launching a merchant co-branded banking card with ADIB, representing a strategic partnership for financial product development and extended service offerings to merchants.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Tabby: Leading MENA BNPL platform operating across UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Comparable to Agel as a BNPL fintech in the MENA region, but at significantly larger scale and focused on consumer purchases rather than B2B trade financing.
• Tamara: Major MENA BNPL provider operating in Saudi Arabia and UAE with regional ambitions. Comparable to Agel in regional BNPL category but serves consumers rather than the trader-to-trader use case Agel targets.
• MNT-Halan: Egyptian fintech serving unbanked and underbanked populations with credit, payments, and savings products. Comparable to Agel in serving Egypt's underbanked MSME segment, but operates broader consumer finance rather than focused Islamic trade financing.
• Contact (EFG Holding subsidiary): Egyptian consumer finance provider offering installment plans through retail merchant network. Comparable to Agel in Egyptian installment finance category, though operating through physical merchant partnerships rather than a mobile-first BNPL model.

Regional players

• Postpay: MENA BNPL provider operating primarily in the UAE with merchant integrations. Comparable to Agel in regional BNPL category but focused on Gulf consumer purchases rather than Egyptian trade financing.
• Cashee: UAE-based BNPL and teen-focused fintech operating across MENA. Comparable to Agel as a regional BNPL fintech, though primarily focused on youth/consumer segments in Gulf markets rather than Egyptian trade finance.

Direct peers

• valU: Egyptian BNPL platform operated by EFG Finance, offering installment-based purchases to consumers. Directly comparable to Agel in the Egyptian BNPL space but serves consumer end-buyers rather than trader-to-trader trade financing.
• Sympl: Egyptian BNPL provider enabling consumers to pay in installments. Directly competes with Agel in the Egyptian installment/credit space, though focused on consumer purchases rather than B2B trade financing.
• Khazna: Egyptian fintech providing financial services for underbanked populations including credit and BNPL. Comparable to Agel in serving Egypt's underbanked segment with credit-led products, though Khazna focuses more on consumer-side financing.
• Lucky One (Lucky): Egyptian BNPL app targeting underserved consumers and merchants with installment payment options. Comparable to Agel as an Egypt-based installment fintech, though consumer-focused rather than trade-finance.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/agelegypt
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/agelegypt
• Xx.com/agelegypt

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Agel