Techpreneur of the Week: Abdelrahman Elsharawy, Building a 0% e-Payment System

The advent of e-payment systems and accessible banking through mobile phones and online platforms has increased the rate of business transactions in the world. E-payment solution providers are becoming popular worldwide with the increased reception of technology and financial inclusion. One of such is Vapulus founded in 2015 by Abdelrahman Elsharawy.

Born in Egypt, Abdelrahman Elsharawy had his education in Cairo Egypt and obtained a university degree at the University of Washington, where he studied Applied Mathematics. He also bagged a Masters in Marketing and Marketing Management from the same institution.

He began his career as a Market Research Analyst at IMC Research Incorporation in 1996 then proceeded to Ipsos to work as a Research Manager. Elsharawy also worked as a Senior Research Manager in Ipsos, National Director in IMC Research Incorporation and as an Associate Director at Nielsen.

See also:Startup Spotlight: Meet SWVL the Bus Transport Disruptor in Africa

After working for a while, the Techprenuer saw the use of modern technologies such as Automated Clearing House (ACH), e-wallets, and Blockchain for facilitating seamless payment transactions. He realised that these will soon outperform card transactions and decided to venture into the fintech sector. This prompted him to create a system that is capable of onboarding businesses that operate without charging transaction fees.

Vapulus e-payment gateway allows users to sell their services and receive payment from any part of the world. It also charges 0% e-payment transaction fees for users on its platform. This makes Vapulus the only free e-payment technology. The platform currently has more than 450 merchants trading from 14 countries across the Middle East and Northern Africa.

Elsharawhy secured his first funding of $15,000 within the first six months of launching his business. Since then, he has secured more funds totalling $300,000 to scale growth. With Vapulus, Elsharawhy seeks to promote the elimination of transactional fees for online payments and by 2020, he plans to expand his business to the GCC countries.