Behind each of the markets where Cellulant has an active presence and each project is a multicultural team of pacesetters working tirelessly to make things happen.
In 2019, Cellulant launched in Egypt. Our first employee? Ahmed Marwan.
Meet Ahmed Marwan
What prompted him to join Cellulant, I asked him.
“Cellulant’s quest to make the African continent a better place for Africans by Africans filled me with admiration. I saw the future for this generation in Fintech & in Cellulant “
Ahmed owes his love for people and problem solving to his father whom he refers to as His Hero.
“My father is a civil engineer and he used to take me to his project sites so that I could see the structures from the beginning to end. He used to let me give a hand to the rest of the workers.
This is where Ahmed learned the importance of helping people, being thankful, and the value of stepping out and doing whatever is needed to get the job done.
Ahmed wasn’t always a salesman.
His first love was Egyptology. He graduated from the University of Helwan with a degree in Egyptology.
“I have always been inspired by ancient Egyptian civilizations and the idea of getting to know about other cultures, learning new languages and meeting new people.
I had my eye on the tourism industry however, after the Egyptian Revolution, the Tourism sector, by and large, became unstable. Seeing no clear path in tourism, I decided to take another path.
That is when I got into sales. Much like the skills needed in Tourism- sales gives you a chance to solve very niche problems, interact with new people, new ideas and learn along the way.”
His sales career started at Linkdotnet. He went on to work as a corporate sales manager at Orange where he was instrumental in setting up Infobip in Egypt.
Partnering with Egyptian Payment Pioneers
In 2020, Egypt remained one of the leading entrepreneurship hubs in the Middle East. According to pundits, 2021 is poised to be exciting and lively for Egyptian fintech.
Less than 8 months into his new stint, Ahmed added 13 wallet checkouts, 18 banks, over 160k cashpoints into Celullant’s payment gateway through a partnership with one of the pioneers in E-Payment Network in Egypt.
This partnership means that now Cellulant customers can extend their payment capabilities to Egypt allowing them to collect through mobile money, card, direct bank transfers as well connect with local merchants and billers.
Speaking to his experience establishing this partnership, Ahmed notes that Egypt is already an established fintech market. There are already numerous Payment solutions that are available in the market. However, he says Cellulant presented a unique proposition; linking its regional and global payment ecosystem of consumers, merchants, businesses, and governments to Egypt and vice versa.
Shooting for the Stars
According to Ahmed, one of the biggest challenges for a Fintech in Egypt is creating a partnership with banks due to regulations. However, that did not deter him when the opportunity to work with Cellulant knocked.
“No matter your nationality, colour, habits, needs… the need to make a payment for your daily activities is essential for your everyday life. Cellulant is making this super easy and providing a secure ecosystem that allows everyone to be able to make instant, secure and seamless payments at the touch of their fingertips. The fact that I get to do this in Egypt, for my own people and country continues to inspire me greatly”
Ahmed
Ahmed is a proven builder. He recently took on a regional role and is now in growing Cellulant’s presence in Algeria, Tunisia, and Sudan.
“I am at my best when I am making an impact in the work that I do. He says
The first beneficiaries of this partnership have been Ethiopia Airlines and Emirates. According to Ahmed, this is just the beginning.
“We plan to expand our network and partnerships in Egypt to offer customers more options to pay. Any merchant who is looking to expand or grow their business can leverage on Cellulant’s payment platform to do that.”
All work and no play?
Ahmed at the opening of the African Cup of Nations in Cairo in 2019
Certainly not for Ahmed who considers himself a compassionate and loving husband, father, and friend, Ahmed is an avid football fan, with a love for other sports including swimming and squash.
Asked what gets him excited about Cellulant, Ahmed’s face beams with a smile
“Our mission of making Africa a better place for Africans is something that I am proud to be part of every day. It is a mission worth fighting for and realising. I am looking forward to leading this effort in Egypt and beyond.”
If you would like to get more information on how Cellulant can power your payments across Africa, or if you’d like to connect with Ahmed, talk to us.
