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Qatar Airways Acquires 25% Stake In South Africa’s Airlink
The investment will improve Qatar Airways’ position as a regional player in the African market and boost its economic potential.
The Qatar Airways Group has acquired a 25% share of Southern Africa’s top independent regional carrier, Airlink. The announcement signals ambitious plans for the multi-award-winning airline to further expand operations across the African continent. In addition, the investment in Airlink (which already flies to over 45 African destinations) will enhance the code-sharing alliance between the two carriers.
After the announcement, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer stated: “Our investment in Airlink further demonstrates how integral we see Africa being to our business’ future. This partnership not only demonstrates our confidence in Airlink, as a company that is resilient, agile, financially robust, and governed on sound principles, but also in Africa as a whole, showing huge potential that I am delighted we are able to help start realizing”.
Airlink Chief Executive Rodger Foster added: “Having Qatar Airways as an equity partner is a powerful endorsement of Airlink and echoes our faith in the markets we currently serve and plan to add to our network. This transaction will unlock growth by providing efficiencies of scale, increasing our capacity, and expanding our marketing reach. By bolstering Airlink and its business, this investment will strengthen all of the existing airline partnerships Airlink has nurtured over the years”.
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The Qatar Airways and Airlink partnership will soon align both carriers’ loyalty programs — Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Airlink Skybucks — and eventually lead to further cooperation and market growth for both airlines.
Qatar Airways already flies to 29 African destinations, with a handful of new cities added since December 2020, including Abidjan, Abuja, Accra, Harare, Kano, Luanda, Lusaka, and Port Harcourt. Meanwhile, Cairo and Alexandria have also resumed regular scheduled flights.
News
Paymob Extends Series B Funding To $72M Amid Continued Growth
The financial services provider has secured an extra $22 million after strong performance in its core market of Egypt.
Leading financial services provider Paymob has secured an additional $22 million in a funding extension, bringing its Series B total to $72 million.
The funding was spearheaded by EBRD Venture Capital, with support from Endeavor Catalyst. Existing backers such as PayPal Ventures, BII, FMO, A15, Nclude, and Helios Digital Ventures also participated, reaffirming their confidence in Paymob’s business model and potential in the regional fintech industry.
This extension comes on the back of Paymob’s strong performance in its core market of Egypt, where it has experienced 6x revenue growth since the initial Series B in Q2 2022. With the Series B extension and continued profitability in Egypt, Paymob is well-positioned to further its expansion strategy across the MENA region.
Islam Shawky, Co-founder and CEO of Paymob, commented: “We are very excited by our strong prospects in Egypt – where we hold a market-leading position – and the significant traction experienced in the UAE since launching operations there. This funding will help Paymob fully capitalize on the momentum in our established markets, as we accelerate our GCC roll-out. We remain committed to creating cutting-edge infrastructure enabling SMEs across the region to thrive in the digital economy and are proud of our continued impact”.
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The expansion into GCC markets has been driven by Paymob’s initial Series B funding of $50 million, raised in 2022 and led by Kora Capital, PayPal Ventures, and Clay Point. The investment fueled Paymob’s growth, allowing it to launch its mobile app in 2023 and grow its merchant base by 3.5 times, now serving nearly 350,000 merchants across MENA.
Paymob has also expanded its payment acceptance suite to offer 50 payment methods through its gateway, POS terminals, and the Paymob app, providing the region’s most comprehensive fintech solution. The company recently introduced embedded checkout services for Shopify and WooCommerce, further demonstrating its commitment to empowering small and medium businesses across the region.
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