Munify, a Cairo- and U.S.-founded fintech startup, has raised USD 3 million in seed funding to build a cross-border neobank for Egyptians living abroad.
The round was led by Y Combinator, BYLD, and DCG, following Munify’s selection into YC’s Summer 2025 batch—a rare entry from outside the U.S. and one of the few non-AI startups in the cohort.
Munify: Banking Without Borders
Founded in early 2025 by Khaled Ashmawy, Munify is tackling one of the Middle East’s most pressing financial challenges: the inefficiencies of remittances.
Egypt is among the world’s largest remittance markets, receiving nearly USD 30 billion annually, yet money transfers remain slow and costly for millions of migrant workers.
This dual model offers remittance and banking services for individuals while also providing APIs for businesses to send and receive cross-border payments.
The platform is designed to give Egyptians abroad in the U.S., U.K., Europe, and Gulf an instant, lower-cost way to send money home, while enabling residents in Egypt to access U.S. banking services.
“Having faced the challenges of sending money back to Cairo myself, I wanted to build a solution that makes remittances instant, affordable, and accessible,” said Ashmawy.
Expanding Regional Rails
Beyond remittances, Munify is also positioning itself as a gateway for remote workers, freelancers, and SMEs in the Middle East.
The platform enables them to open a U.S. bank account and card using only a local ID, allowing them to receive and spend money internationally and hedge against local currency volatility.
Looking ahead, Munify plans to expand beyond Egypt to other Middle Eastern and adjacent markets, stitching together regional banking rails to serve a broader diaspora community.
With remittances continuing to fuel household economies across the region, Munify’s model sits at the intersection of financial inclusion, cross-border banking, and diaspora-driven innovation—a timely play in one of the most resilient sectors of MENA fintech.
