Revolutionizing savings in Egypt with a substantial pre-seed investment: PALM's focus on goal-driven savings
Egyptian fintech startup PALM, based in Cairo, has raised a seven-figure pre-seed round to revolutionize the way Egyptians save and invest. The round was led by 4DX Ventures, with participation from Plus VC and international angel investors.
PALM offers Egypt’s first goal-oriented, incentivized savings platform. Users can set and achieve personal financial goals such as education, healthcare, travel, or major purchases by providing tailored investment strategies combining fixed income, equities, and precious metals with behavioral rewards and partner merchant deals.
The company’s approach aligns with Egypt’s Vision 2030 objectives, promoting financial inclusion and encouraging greater household involvement in capital markets. PALM aims to bridge the personal finance gap by offering accessible, goal-based saving tools suited to different income levels.
PALM's founders, Mazen El Kerdany and Ahmed Ashour, emphasize that the platform aims to transform Egyptians’ saving habits by making saving smarter, more disciplined, and rewarding, addressing a gap in Egypt’s largely informal financial planning culture.
Regarding its impact on financial inclusion, PALM targets bridging the personal finance gap by offering accessible, goal-based saving tools suited to different income levels. By leveraging behavioral technology and embedded finance, it promotes long-term saving discipline and potentially improves financial outcomes for users who previously lacked such structured, incentive-driven options.
The newly raised capital will support PALM in expanding its user base, diversifying use cases, and strengthening partnerships. The app aims to cut excess spending through built-in perks, while users earn incentives for staying consistent. The app seeks to generate real returns via diversified investments.
PALM's emphasis on goal-based saving may resonate in a market where financial planning remains largely informal and reactive. The core idea is that saving should be both disciplined and rewarding. The real challenge for PALM lies in scaling and proving whether it can evolve into a trusted platform for navigating life's key financial decisions.
El Kerdany has overseen multi-billion-dollar investments at EFG Hermes and Beltone, while Ashour brings global experience from Amazon and Goldman Sachs. The company's expansion plans focus on growing the user base and diversifying use cases to further deepen its role in Egypt’s fintech ecosystem.
In summary, PALM represents a novel approach in Egypt’s fintech landscape by aligning savings with personal goals and rewarding consistent financial behavior, backed by strong early-stage investment and a scalable vision to improve financial inclusion and planning reliability in the region.
- PALM, a financial inclusion startup based in Cairo, aims to transform Egyptians' saving habits by offering goal-oriented savings platforms and investing in personal-finance education-and-self-development.
- Through incentivized savings strategies that combine fixed income, equities, and precious metals, PALM aspires to bridge the personal-finance gap, promoting greater household participation in capital markets.
- By leveraging technology and behavioral rewards, PALM seeks to encourage saving discipline, improve financial outcomes, and foster growth in Egypt's fintech industry, ultimately contributing to the country's Vision 2030 objectives.
