Egyptian companies are selling their unpaid invoices faster than ever. Factoring jumped nearly 80% last year to more than £130 billion, and last week iGCSE-listed Salary won preliminary approval to enter the market. Packaging exporters report overseas sales up 15% this year. Is factoring fuelling the export push or patching over slow payers? Joining me is Alaa Khalifa, founder and CEO of Digital Experts Marketing Consultancy. Thank you for joining us.
Thank you. Thank you.
When an international buyer sits across the table today — how many days of credit are they asking for and is that number getting longer?
Payment terms vary from buyer to buyer and from market to market. Different markets have different payment terms. What matters is when the clock starts — from shipment to delivery to acceptance and whether the buyer will pay on time. Having the right agreement between buyer and manufacturer is what matters. The cash commitment starts when the manufacturer gets the order and begins buying raw materials and starting production. The longer the credit line, the harder it is on the manufacturer. In business, collection is the most important factor in survival. The more credit line you extend — the more you are getting closer to suicide.
Are Egyptian exporters losing deals on price or on payment terms to rivals who can afford to wait longer?
Payment terms can be a deciding factor when price is comparable. Buyers look at the whole package — quality, delivery, price, and how long before they pay. If two suppliers have comparable products, the supplier who can safely offer longer credit has an advantage. But we should not win orders by accepting unlimited financial risk. Competitive financing today helps Egyptian manufacturers offer better terms without checking their financial stability — so they can breathe longer in the entire export process.
The FRA says the number of companies using factoring jumped more than 40% in a year to over a thousand. Why now — is it cheaper than a bank line or just easier to get?
The attraction is turning completed sales into cash available for the next order. A business can be profitable on paper and still struggle because money is sitting in unpaid invoices. Factoring is not automatically cheaper than a bank facility. I would compare the total cost, the amount that is advanced, who carries the risk, and whether enough cash is released at the right time to support a real profitable business.
Salary has preliminary approval to buy invoices. What would make a manufacturer switch from a bank-backed factor to a fintech?
Speed gets the attention first. Reliable funding and transparent pricing win the business. A manufacturer needs to know exactly how much cash they will get and on exactly what date. Technology should reduce the repetitive paperwork and improve the assessment of genuine trading activity. If those advantages translate into a better financing offer and a dependable service — if the technology reduces paperwork and gets the process faster — then fintech really matters at this stage. Because time here is everything.
It is always a pleasure. Thank you very much for joining us today.
It is a pleasure. Thank you.
