How Egypt's Thndr seeks to break down investment barriers for Mena youth

Generation Start-up: The digital platform aims to eliminate obstacles that users face during their investment journey while fostering financial literacy

Seif Amr, left, and Ahmad Hammouda, co-founders of digital investment platform Thndr. Photo: Thndr

Ahmad Hammouda, while working at one of the largest investment banks in Egypt, noticed how the stock market was largely inaccessible to all except the wealthy.

Inspired by zero-commission trading app Robinhood’s mission to demystify and democratise investing, he conceived the idea for a digital investment platform in 2016.

“However, I realised I needed more tech experience to bring this vision to life, which led me to join Uber,” Mr Hammouda says.

At Uber, he met his colleague Seif Amr, who faced significant hurdles while trying to open an investment account. He had to visit a branch and was told he did not meet the minimum account requirements. This experience highlighted the financial industry's barriers to investing.

After working together at Uber in Egypt for a few years, Mr Hammouda and Mr Amr decided to take the leap of faith and start Thndr to democratise investing in Egypt.

Retail investors are increasingly seeking access to markets with the help of technology, leading to a surge in popularity for zero-commission trading apps such as Robinhood and eToro.

Demand for trading apps soared during the coronavirus pandemic, as monetary easing by the US Federal Reserve and other central banks gave novice day traders more money to invest during lockdowns, according to a report by Finra Investor Education Foundation, based in the US, and the National Opinion Research Centre at the University of Chicago.

However, only about 5 per cent of the Middle East and North Africa's population participates in the stock market, compared with 58 per cent in the US and 33 per cent in the UK, according to data from neo-broker amana.

Founded in 2019, after being part of the Silicon Valley-based Y Combinator accelerator, Thndr was launched in Egypt and offered users a mobile-first investment platform that makes investing in stocks, bonds and funds simple.

Thndr obtained the first broker's licence issued in Egypt by the Financial Regulatory Authority since 2008 and launched the country's first digital broker.

“We focused on three pain points when building Thndr. The first was a tedious and complicated account opening process or access to investment platforms: this involved physically going to branches, a long process to get started and coded into the stock market and high requirements for monetary entry,” says Mr Hammouda, co-founder and chief executive.

“Our solution was being able to build the easiest way to invest in the Middle East and North Africa. Within Thndr, we are looking to remove all obstacles users face throughout their investment journey, whether relating to account opening, associated costs, access to resources or ease of use.”

Everyone can open an investment account with Thndr free of charge without having to visit a bank branch or wait for the account opening process to be completed.

In addition, there is no requirement for a minimum account balance, so everyone can start investing with any amount.

The second pain point was the lack of education and access to resources, news and financial literacy content.

“We decided we weren’t waiting for investors to come to us, we were going to create them. With a focus on financial literacy, we equip investors with the knowledge to make self-directed investment decisions,” according to Mr Hammouda.

Recognising that its users are not as financially literate as those in developed countries, the platform offers articles about the latest stock market news to help increase awareness of current events.

It also provides simulators, videos, workshops, podcasts and daily newsletters on investment. This acts as a starter guide for people with no background in investment, giving them a “wholesome overview” of what they need before starting to invest.

The start-up also recently launched an Egyptian advisory platform called Rumble to help investors become better informed in their decision-making.

In Egypt, 85 per cent of Thndr investors are first-time users of the platform, while 54 per cent come from outside the capital, where access to financial institutions is limited.

“The third issue was that we believe in diversifying and investment products are too scattered; we wanted to ensure access to all investment products,” Mr Hammouda says.

“On the Thndr app in Egypt, we have mutual funds, stocks, gold and savings products. We are building an investment supermarket for Mena consumers to access different types of investment products.”

In May, the company received a Category 3A licence from the Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority to deal in investments as an agent.

The app can be downloaded from Apple's App Store and Google Play.

“We consider ourselves in a learning phase. We have started onboarding users and will use the next quarter to better learn the demographic, what the UAE’s investors need and how they behave when it comes to investing,” the co-founder says.

“What we plan to build in the UAE is follow our success in Egypt in being the leaders of financial education, empowering users with the tools and know-how instead of just the platform to use.”

Thndr is affiliated with Hub71, Abu Dhabi's tech ecosystem, which provides the start-up with a foothold in the UAE market.

The investment marketplace currently offers full access to the US stock market and exchange-traded funds. However, it plans to include more local products.

“Our short-term plan is to provide more accessibility to the local stock market and other local financial products, which will help set us apart,” Mr Hammouda says.

“We’re building first and foremost for an Arabic-speaking population, so being local in our approach is key to our success.”

Additionally, Thndr plans to launch in Saudi Arabia by the end of the year after it obtains the necessary licensing.

The company is building investment products for a mobile-first generation, one that faces harder financial struggles than past generations, the co-founder explains.

“We are focused on targeting UAE/GCC individuals aged 25 to 40, particularly young adults who have entered the workforce and have more triggers to invest,” he says.

“Our vision is to put wealth in the hands of everyday people and attract a new generation of young investors to the market by removing all challenges and friction that users encounter throughout their investment journey.”

Thndr does not charge customers an annual fee for its services. It has several revenue streams, such as a subscription model in Egypt, which will launch in the UAE.

Moreover, the company’s relationships with fund managers who add their investment products to Thndr allow for an additional revenue stream.

The platform also takes a commission on investments from users but claims it is one of the lowest in the market.

Thndr has raised more than $22 million in funding from global venture capital companies such as Tiger Global, Beco Capital and Prosus Ventures among others.

“Operating in Egypt, navigating the regulatory framework is a key issue we’re tackling bit-by-bit on a daily basis. The regulator has been very open-minded and supportive since the company launched,” Mr Hammouda says.

“Changing people’s mindset and approach towards investing, that investing isn’t only for people of a certain age or educational background has been a major challenge in the region. We are on a mission to change culture and ingrain financial literacy into the daily lives of individuals.”

The situation in the UAE, where numerous investment platforms offer similar services, can be overwhelming for potential investors, he believes.

With so many options, it can be difficult to choose a reputable platform and determine which investment is right for them, he adds.

Q&A with Ahmad Hammouda, co-founder and chief executive of Thndr

What successful start-up do you wish you had started?

I haven't thought about that before but to be honest, I would do a start-up in the gaming industry.

What new skills have you learnt in the process of launching your start-up?

I learnt from my co-founder Seif about solving problems for sustainability – even if it hurts in the short term.

Building a company based on sustainability at its core is what helps us grow steadily but surely.

If you could start all over again, what would you do differently?

I would have done it the same way. I believe in learning from my mistakes, and whether it’s good or bad, I know it’s what helped us get here today.

I have been enjoying every step in this journey, including the mistakes we made, and I truly look forward to discovering what path this journey will take us to.

Who is your role model?

My parents – the biggest learning I got from them was how invested they were in my education.

I feel I’ve taken that value and made it a huge part of what makes Thndr standout as a platform that creates investors.

Where do you see yourself after 10 years?

Still working at Thndr, with 10 years of amazing growth achieved. I might not still be chief executive, but I think I’ll continue to play a role in the company.