REG - EFG-Hermes Holdings - valU Invests in Live Shopping Platform "Hoods"

EFG Holding SAEAnnouncement

01/11/2022 12:45

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RNS Number : 9391E  EFG-Hermes Holdings SAE  01 November 2022

valU Invests in Entertainment and Live Shopping E-Commerce Platform "Hoods"

This investment will further enable valU to add new and exciting features and
services to its product universe to ensure that its consumer financing
offering reaches more people and serves more businesses

Cairo, November 1, 2022

valU, MENA's leading Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) lifestyle-enabling fintech
platform, announced today its investment in Hoods, the first and leading live
entertainment commerce platform in the Middle East. valU's investment aims to
capitalize on Hoods' unique platform to penetrate the fast-growing virtual
shopping space and diversify its offering to both new and existing valU
customers and merchants. The investment in Hoods comes just two months after
valU announced its acquisition of Paynas, a full-fledged employee management
and benefits company that provides financial services to micro, small, and
medium enterprises (MSME), as well as valU's recent minority stake acquisition
in Kiwe, the first youth social payment app that facilitates onboarding the
unbanked segment in Egypt.

Hoods' live shopping platform offers an innovative and user-friendly shopping
experience that is unique in nature and has proven to be successful in
attracting a large and growing customer base. By building a digital
application that has brought the vendor, content creator, and shopper, onto
one platform to interact and execute retail transactions in a fun manner
through a seamless experience. Hoods has changed the way consumers shop online
as it allows shoppers to view the products they want in an engaging live
format.

On a global scale, especially post-pandemic, virtual shopping is fast becoming
a favored method amongst customers to purchase items online. Hoods leverages
videos made by individuals using creative content to produce unique and
entertaining product displays for customers, as opposed to conventional
e-commerce. By offering consumers a platform where they can connect with
influencers and brands to see their desired products come to life, Hoods has
positioned itself as a unique omnichannel solution that blends real-life
shopping experiences with the speed and convenience of e-commerce.

Commenting on the investment is valU's Head of Strategy and Market Expansion,
Habiba Naguib, "This investment in Hoods is a testament to valU's focus on
partnering with unconventional marketplaces, platforms, and companies that
align with our vision which is centered on developing trendsetting solutions
across our digital ecosystem that truly focus on creating seamless and
convenient experiences that add value to the daily lives of people across the
board. By tapping into this exciting space, we gain access to Hoods'
technology and community, which allows us to offer them convenient financing
solutions as they shop online. Meanwhile, we are enabling valU's expansive
merchant network to be featured on Hoods' live shopping platform, which will
drive more demand and provide valU's customers with access to a disruptive
platform that will elevate their shopping experience."

The transaction aligns with valU's commitment to investing in companies that
support its mission of elevating consumer lifestyles. The transaction will
also allow valU to further deliver on its strategy of giving people and
businesses access to the tools and financing they need to build better lives
and better companies, fundamentally upholding a commitment to financial
inclusion and creating long-term value and positive impact for the communities
the company continues to serve.

Also commenting on the transaction is Hoods' Founder, Mostafa Hanafy, "Our
passion stems from our inherent drive to create valuable, life changing
experiences that shape and create markets. Thus, we are very excited today to
be partnering with a leading player in the fintech space like valU to elevate
Hoods' offering to consumers and to expand its client base. valU's investment
has further cemented our confidence in the attractive future that the virtual
shopping space holds. By creating change in this ecosystem, we have built a
new market, that has created new and exciting experiences for our clients. The
investment by valU will also allow us to expedite our growth plans and achieve
more impact in the market."

Hoods' Co-Founder, Waleed Ghalwash, has also praised the transaction, saying,
"We have built a platform that uniquely fuses shopping and entertainment in a
rich experience that offers both the convenience and the excitement of live
entertainment through a robust e-commerce platform. We make sure that products
are delivered to the customers' doorstep with speed and with as little hassle
as possible. This unique partnership with valU will allow us to provide a
payment solution that hammers on affordability, which will further improve the
shopping experiences of our consumers."

-Ends-

About valU

A subsidiary of EFG Hermes Holding established in 2017, valU is the leading
Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) lifestyle enabling fintech platform offering
convenient and customizable financing plans up to 60 months. With more than
5,000 points of sale and over 330 websites, valU offers access to a wide
network of retail and e-commerce providers across a diverse array of
categories including home appliances, electronics, home finishing, furniture,
residential solar solutions, healthcare, education, travel, and fashion, among
others. As the first platform of its kind in the MENA region, valU customers
can receive instant credit decisions through their devices and gain access to
the ever-growing platform's partners.

About hoods

hoods is a platform for entertainment and online shopping through videos and
live broadcasts. It uniquely fuses shopping and entertainment in a compelling
experience that combines the convenience of robust e-commerce with the
excitement of live entertainment, offering international and local products
with various payment methods to serve every shopping experience.

 

Note on Forward-Looking Statements

In this press release, EFG Hermes Holding may make forward looking statements,
including, for example, statements about management's expectations, strategic
objectives, growth opportunities and business prospects. These forward-looking
statements are not historical facts but instead represent only EFG Hermes
Holding's belief regarding future events, many of which, by their nature are
inherently uncertain and are beyond management's control and include among
others, financial market volatility; actions and initiatives taken by current
and potential competitors; general economic conditions and the effect of
current, pending, and future legislation, regulations, and regulatory actions.
Accordingly, the readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are
made.

 

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