- Zeal, an Egyptian fintech startup, has raised $4 million in funding to expand its technology throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) following its recent entry into the UK market.
- Raed Ventures and Cur8 Capital led the round, while several angel investors participated.
- This news comes less than a year after the co-founder, Omar Feid, announced that the company had received its "EIS Tax relief advanced assurance," which is an endorsement from HM Revenue and Customs indicating that an investment in the company could qualify for tax relief. Feid called this news "amazing news for UK investors."
Zeal, founded in 2019 by Ebeid, Bellal Mohamed, and Amr Mohamed, allows users to link a payment method to the app's QR code, which they can then present to an in-store scanner for payment and loyalty punch collection in a single transaction.
Vendors receive a dashboard for data analytics that tracks real-time branch spending. They can forecast future customer spending with this AI-powered dashboard.
The customer-loyalty-focused fintech also offers actionable insights for influencing consumer behaviour, engaging customers through targeted offers and notifications, and analysing customer data to enhance purchasing frequency and loyalty.
According to Ebeid, the company, committed to broadening its impact by connecting billions of customers with millions of retailers, will use the funding to improve global retail customer engagement through AI.
Leading the fintech portfolio is SmartPOS Plugin, a solution that allows credit card machines to recognise, categorise, and re-engage with in-store customers, fundamentally changing how physical retailers engage and retain their customer base.
The company says it has achieved notable advancements in the payments industry, forging partnerships with key players such as Ingenico and Network International and securing accolades like the Visa Everywhere Initiative.
In December 2020, Zeal announced the completion of an undisclosed round of seed funding to aid its expansion.
