Souhoola Expands BNPL Reach with New City Stars Branch Launch

Mohammed Fathy

Last updated 18-05-2026

4 min

Souhoola opened a new branch at Cairo’s busy City Stars mall.

The move targets “high-traffic commercial hubs” to get closer to shoppers.

It offers flexible instalments with fast approvals for banked and unbanked customers.

Leaders call it a “pivotal step” in expansion and deeper merchant partnerships.

Rapid growth shows BNPL becoming mainstream, despite intensifying competition.

Souhoola, one of Egypt’s best-known consumer finance players and a growing force in the Buy Now, Pay Later space, has opened a new branch at City Stars as of 15 May 2026. The move is part of a broader expansion plan that targets high-traffic commercial hubs across the country, with the aim of getting closer to customers where they already shop and spend time.

City Stars is not just any mall. It’s one of Cairo’s busiest retail destinations, drawing a steady flow of families, young professionals and students. For a consumer finance company that thrives on everyday purchases, it feels like a spot on choice. I’ve walked through that mall more than once and thought how much of Egypt’s retail energy is concentrated under that one roof, finance players want to be right in the middle of that action, not on the sidelines.

The company says the new branch supports its push for wider financial inclusion. Souhoola offers flexible instalment plans with fast approvals, available to both banked and unbanked customers. Through digital platforms and instant approval systems, shoppers can split payments without what, in the past, used to be a bit of a faff with paperwork and long waits. In a market where access to formal credit can still be uneven, that matters.

Souhoola works with a broad merchant network that stretches across multiple sectors in Egypt, from electronics to home goods and beyond. At the same time, it continues to invest in its digital solutions, aiming to make the financing experience smoother and more transparent. And believe it or not, transparency in consumer finance can sometimes be the make-or-break factor for long-term trust.

To mark the opening, the company is planning a launch event featuring exclusive offers in collaboration with its merchant partners. There will also be entertainment activities and giveaways for customers, a clear effort to turn a branch launch into more of a community moment than just a corporate ribbon-cutting.

Ahmed El-Shanwany, CEO of Souhoola, described the City Stars branch as a pivotal step in the company’s expansion within Egypt. He noted that the location strengthens the company’s proximity to customers in one of the country’s most vibrant destinations. He also highlighted Souhoola’s focus on developing flexible, easy-to-use financial solutions aligned with the fast-moving fintech sector.

Mohamed Gamal, Chief Business Officer at Souhoola, said the branch represents an important addition to the company’s footprint and reflects the continuation of its growth strategy. He pointed to deeper merchant partnerships and a wider range of opening offers as part of the plan, alongside efforts to blend digital tools with in-branch service to enhance the customer journey.

Founded in 2019 and operating as a subsidiary of Banque Misr, Souhoola has a capital base of EGP 400 million and serves more than 370,000 active customers. Since launch, its customer base has grown more than fourfold, a sign, the company says, of continuing trust in its model. I reckon that level of growth in just a few years also underlines how quickly BNPL has moved from being a novelty to becoming almost mainstream in Egypt.

On the flip side, the BNPL sector is becoming crowded, and competition is sharpening. That said, physical branches in prime retail spots could give Souhoola an edge, especially among customers who still value face-to-face reassurance when it comes to finance. Digital-first is great, but in markets like Egypt, hybrid models often feel more grounded and definately more relatable.

For readers following Egypt’s fintech evolution here at Arageek, this expansion is another signal that consumer finance is no longer niche. It’s embedding itself into daily life, one mall, one branch, one instalment plan at a time.

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