● Egypt recorded 147 per cent increase in number of bank account holders, digital wallets and more, between 2016 and 2022.

● Mahesh Paolini-Subramanya has been appointed as the new Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

By ; Bakinam khaled

BKN301, one of the leading payment and Banking-as-a-Service providers in the MENA region, expanded its operations into Egypt with a new office in Cairo aimed at transforming the country’s financial markets.

The new office has been launched to present the company’s advanced banking and digital payments solutions to the country.

The latest expansion move is highly strategic and in line with Egypt’s Vision 2030, which envisions government initiatives designed to boost financial inclusion across all segments of the society, as well as the country’s geographic location, which enables access to all of North African markets. 

With a dedicated office in Cairo, BKN301 reinforces its position as a leading open-market and cross-border operator in the Open Banking and Digital Payments sector in the MENA region, offering a comprehensive payment system, which seamlessly integrates with existing infrastructure and data flows. BKN301 will offer B2B clients the option to integrate fintech solutions into their ecosystems, thereby enhancing end-user experience and boosting monetisation.

In addition to strengthening its presence in the MENA region, the company has appointed Mahesh Paolini-Subramanya as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to lead the development of the BKN301 platform and solutions.

With his proven track record of working with startups and innovative companies, Mahesh Paolini-Subramanya joins BKN301 Group after serving for few years as CTO at Klar, a leading digital financial services platform that provides a transparent, free and secure alternative to traditional banking services in Mexico. Prior to that, he was CTO at BlockFi, a platform providing comprehensive banking products such as payments, wealth management, credit and cryptocurrency accounts to over 500,000 customers and with over USD 15 billion in AUM. Additionally, he has held executive roles with innovative companies such as Ubiquiti Networks, Factom and Vocalocity (now Vonage Business). Mahesh Paolini-Subramanya has been recognised as one of the Top 25 Financial Technology CTOs of 2022.

Stiven Muccioli, Founder and CEO of BKN301, said: “The fintech industry in Egypt has evolved over the years, with digital payments, digital investment, digital assets and neobanking among the most significant trends to emerge. Our presence in the country will be a significant step forward in improving and transforming the way payments are used, particularly with our innovative solutions fuelling embedded fintech experiences with advanced payment capabilities, such as the 301wallet, 301pay, 301xb, 301core and more. We look forward to supporting the growth and development of the region’s fintech sector by providing our world-class payment services and further expanding our presence across other countries in the MENA region.”

“Additionally, we are elated to welcome Mahesh Paolini-Subramanya as our new CTO. Mahesh joins us with a wealth of knowledge and has a proven track record in startups and other innovative businesses and is certain to lead us to new heights with a brighter vision for the business,” he added. 

According to the latest data from the Central Bank of Egypt, there has been a 147 per cent increase in the number of bank account holders, Egyptian Post accounts, digital wallets and prepaid cards between 2016 and 2022, which raised the total to more than 42 million users or 64.8 per cent of the total population aged 16 and above. This growth was made possible by the development of necessary infrastructure, such as bank or postal branches, microfinance institutions, ATMs, POS and payment service providers, which surpassed 1,200 units per 100,000 residents by 2022. 

BKN301’s latest expansion move comes after its opening in Qatar in September of last year and its partnership with Damen, a leading electronic payment solutions company in Egypt, that offers 500+ financial payment services, including paying for flight reservations, utility bills, loan instalments, transferring money, and others.

About BKN301:

BKN301 Group, through a "Banking-as-a-Service" platform and digital e-money model, enables third parties to offer payment services and token issuance. The group aims to become the leading open-market and cross-border operator in the Open Banking sector, offering technology solutions and bringing its solutions to international markets with a strong focus on high-growth markets (Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe). The services BKN301 Group offers are easily integrated and enable a wide range of industries such as financial institutions and fintech companies, corporate entities, telcos, utilities, retailers and web3, to offer value-added services to their customers. Founded by Stiven Muccioli, Federico Zambelli Hosmer and Luca Bertozzi, and operational since March 2021, BKN301 has raised a total of EUR 20 million.

www.bkn301.com