In one of the largest Series A rounds ever recorded on the African continent, Egyptian proptech startup Nawy has raised a total of $75 million to redefine real estate transactions and expand into regional markets. The funding is split between $52 million in equity, led by Partech Africa, and $23 million in debt financing from top Egyptian banks.

This strategic investment positions Nawy as a leading force in the proptech space, attracting interest from both local and international real estate investors, particularly those tracking real estate investments in Dubai, Nigeria, the UK, USA, and Canada. The startup is now preparing for expansion into Morocco, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.

Born from Frustration: How Nawy Started

The inspiration behind Nawy stemmed from a deeply personal experience. Mostafa El Beltagy, a former executive at Vodafone, found the process of buying property in Egypt inefficient and fragmented. Navigating property listings through scattered sources and biased sales agents made the real estate journey unnecessarily complex.

“I had no way to look at the market and understand what’s out there, aside from going almost developer by developer, picking up their brochures and asking their salespeople questions, which was highly inefficient,” said El Beltagy. “In this sector, everyone is incentivised to push you one way or another.”

Together with Abdel-Azim Osman, Ahmed Rafea, Mohamed Abou Ghanima, and Aly Rafea, El Beltagy co-founded Nawy to streamline the home-buying process through technology. The platform is now a full-stack real estate solution offering everything from property discovery to innovative financing.

Bridging the Mortgage Gap: “Move Now, Pay Later”

A major part of Nawy’s strategy is solving the mortgage accessibility issue that plagues much of Africa and the Middle East. With traditional mortgages being rare and difficult to obtain, Nawy developed “Move Now, Pay Later”, a flagship financing product enabled by its $23 million debt facility.

“It’s mortgage packaged differently because mortgages are almost non-existent here,” El Beltagy stated.

To further strengthen this offering, Nawy signed a significant funding agreement with Contact Financial’s Med Wealth Funds, providing 1 billion Egyptian pounds in capital to facilitate long-term instalment plans—some extending up to 10 years—for homebuyers.

This is a game-changer for markets like Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Owerri, Ibadan, Uyo, and Asaba, where real estate financing is often inaccessible to the middle class.

Democratizing Real Estate: Nawy Shares

Expanding beyond traditional buying models, Nawy introduced “Nawy Shares,” a fractional ownership product allowing individuals to invest in real estate with as little as $500. This inclusive model opens the doors for Egypt’s—and Africa’s—emerging middle class to participate in real estate investments for the first time.

This innovation reflects growing global interest in real estate investments in emerging markets, particularly as international buyers look to diversify their portfolios into Africa and the Middle East.

Massive Growth, Tech-Driven Efficiency

Nawy’s impact is reflected in its meteoric rise. Since launching in 2020, the company has grown its revenue by 50 times in USD, despite a 69% devaluation of the Egyptian pound. Its Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) surged from $38 million to over $1.4 billion by 2024.

A tech-first backend supports the operation, used by more than 3,000 brokerages, enabling features like instant commission payouts—a critical step that won over skeptical brokers in the early days. Developers now compete for exposure on Nawy’s platform, which draws over one million monthly visitors.

Strategic Expansion and New Services

With fresh funding and rapid traction, Nawy is eyeing regional expansion. The startup has already acquired property management firm ROA, rebranding it as Nawy Unlocked to extend its services beyond transactions into property management.

Countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco—popular hubs for real estate investments—are now strategic targets for Nawy’s next phase of growth.

Who Backed the Round?

The $75 million funding round saw strong participation from global and regional heavyweights including:

• Partech Africa

• Development Partners International’s Nclude Fund

• e& Capital

• Endeavor Catalyst

• HOF Capital

• March Capital Investments

• Outliers

• Plug and Play

• Shorooq Partners

• VentureSouq

• Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures

Tidjane Deme, General Partner at Partech, commented:
“We’re excited to support Nawy as they build the foundation for a modern, tech-driven real estate experience. Their team has deep market insights, coupled with ambitious regional expansion plans and exceptional execution, positioning them as the clear proptech champion in Africa and the Middle East.”

Key Takeaways

• Nawy raised $75 million in Series A funding—$52M in equity and $23M in debt—to expand its real estate platform across Africa and the Middle East.

• The company is tackling broken property buying systems with tech, full-stack services, and alternative financing solutions like “Move Now, Pay Later.”

• Nawy Shares allows entry-level real estate investments from just $500, targeting the middle class in underserved markets.

• Revenue has grown 50x since 2020, with $1.4 billion GMV and a user base that includes 3,000+ brokerages and 1 million monthly visitors.

• Expansion is underway in Morocco, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, with long-term implications for real estate investments in markets like Nigeria, USA, UK, Canada, and beyond.

Looking to invest in emerging property markets? Nawy’s model might just be the future of real estate investment in the digital age.