Egypt’s first unicorn, MTN-Halan’s shares rose 18% on their first day of trading on the Egyptian Exchange on Tuesday, October 20, after its $150 million initial public offering (IPO) saw widespread demand from investors.
The shares opened at the offer price of EGP 24.50 (~$0.45) before climbing to EGP 28.91 (~$0.53), valuing the listed Egyptian business at approximately $745 million, per Launch Base Africa.
The fintech’s valuation figure is below the initial $1.4 billion valuation the company secured in June 2026 after securing more than $70 million in a funding round. But the two valuations cover different businesses. The IPO covers MNT-Halan’s Egyptian operations, rather than the entire group, which also has businesses in other markets.
320 million shares were sold, and the offering raised EGP 7.84 billion (~$144.1 million). That represents a 20% stake in MNT Tech Holding for Financial Investments, MNT-Halan’s Egyptian operating business. MNT Investments B. V., the parent company, sold the shares, meaning the transaction was a secondary sale instead of a direct capital raise for the business.
The shares offered were lower than subscriptions. Institutional investors applied for 11.2 times their allocated shares, while individual investors applied for 43.6 times their allocated shares. The strong demand at the IPO indicated significant investor interest ahead of the listing, although the subsequent share price was determined by trading on the exchange.
From mobile learning to a publicly listed fintech
MNT-Halan was founded in 2018 by Mounir Nakhla and has built its business around financial services for consumers and small businesses that often struggle to access traditional banking. Its services span microfinance, consumer lending, small-business finance and digital payments.
The company has expanded beyond Egypt into Pakistan and Turkey. Its Egyptian operation reported 1.9 million active customers and a gross loan book of EGP 46.7 billion (~$858.3 million) at the end of June 2026, per figures in pre-IPO reporting.
In 2025, the business recorded adjusted revenue of EGP 20.5 billion (~$376.8 million) and net income of EGP 1.98 billion (~$36.4 million).
The reported valuation of $1.4 billion placed MNT-Halan among Africa and the Middle East’s fintech unicorns, private companies valued at $1 billion or more.
The Egyptian listing does not mean the wider group has fallen below that threshold. Instead, it gives public-market investors access to a portion of the business, with the listed entity valued separately from its international parent.
Meanwhile, Egypt has been pushing to deepen its stock market through a government IPO programme, preparations to list state-owned companies, and reforms intended to improve corporate governance, disclosure and investor participation.
In April 2026, the Financial Regulatory Authority said the temporary listing of six state-owned enterprises was part of a broader effort to increase the number of listed companies, improve market liquidity and attract domestic and foreign investors.
MNT-Halan’s debut offers a test of public-market appetite for a profitable fintech business in a region where many tech companies have relied on private funding to finance growth.