MDP, a leading payments technology infrastructure group in the Middle East and Africa, is pleased to announce a new phase of growth following a strategic investment led by Lorax Capital Partners (“LCP”). The transaction marks the exit of long-time partner AfricInvest, whose support has been instrumental to the group’s expansion in recent years.
Payments Technology
MDP delivers a fully integrated, one-stop-shop payments technology infrastructure ecosystem from card issuing, processing to cloud-native digital solutions through industry-leading developer platforms and embedded fintech capabilities to over 200 banks and 60 fintechs across Africa and the Middle East. To date, MDP has processed over 1 billion transactions and issued over 350 million cards and continues to support the region’s financial inclusion and digital transformation efforts.
The new investment, led by LCP, is backed by a consortium of global development financial institutions, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and Proparco, subsidiary of the French AFD Group, focused on private sector development. Their involvement underscores a shared commitment to advancing financial infrastructure and digital innovation across the region.
Expansion
“This investment marks a pivotal milestone in MDP’s journey,” said Ahmed Nafie, Co-founder and CEO of MDP. “We are proud of the robust platform and trusted reputation we’ve built across 40+ countries. With the backing of Lorax and a distinguished group of global institutional investors, we are well-positioned to accelerate our expansion, deepen our processing capabilities, and further scale our operations across Africa, the Middle East, and beyond. We also extend our sincere thanks to AfricInvest for their instrumental role in supporting our strategic growth and regional leadership.”
This transaction marks the successful exit of AfricInvest, a leading pan-African private equity firm that has been a valuable partner in MDP’s journey. Leveraging its extensive regional platform spanning 38 African countries, AfricInvest provided MDP with strategic guidance, operational support, and access to a network of key stakeholders in the financial services and fintech sectors.
Strategic Partnerships
Throughout its investment, AfricInvest has driven operational enhancements, strategic partnerships, and value creation initiatives that have positioned MDP as a cornerstone in the region’s fintech landscape. “We believed in MDP’s ability to pivot into payment processing and played a key role in transforming the company from a pure industrial player to a technology-driven leader. Today, MDP stands as a vital partner in Egypt’s fintech and banking ecosystem, actively contributing to the country’s financial inclusion strategy,” said Ismail Talbi, Senior Partner at AfricInvest.
Skander Oueslati, Chief Investment Officer at AfricInvest, added, “Our commitment to fostering regional connectivity and supporting portfolio companies in their pan-African expansion was a driving force in our partnership with MDP. We opened doors in sub-Saharan Africa, helping MDP to establish local partnerships and presence, paving the way for further growth”.
Strategic Vision
Commenting on the partnership between MDP and the consortium, Mohamed Sadek, Managing Partner at LCP added “We are excited to be backing MDP’s founders in realizing their strategic vision of becoming the partner of choice for financial institutions across the region. We are confident that LCP and its highly experienced co-investors will play an important role during MDP’s next phase of growth which will focus on further investments in technology, expanded product offering and geographic expansion.”