• Ulter Revolutionizes Access to Substantial Purchases, Aligning with Valu's Strategy for Enhanced Customer Value and Convenience.

Cairo: Valu, MENA’s leading universal financial technology company, announced yesterday the launch of Ulter, a revolutionary payment program enabling customers to make sizable purchases in the realm of luxury product acquisitions. Ulter prides itself on having the highest credit limit in the country, surpassing its peers by multiple folds. It offers flexible repayment plans spanning up to 60 months with no down payment, subject to the financed amount, providing customers unparalleled financial convenience and peace of mind.

A launch event, titled 'Echoes of Luxury: Past Wonders Inspiring Modern Opulence,’ was held in collaboration with CulturVator by Art D’Egypte, a renowned curator of art and culture events and experiences in the MENA region. This exclusive event, held at the world's first architectural wonder, the Djoser Pyramid, amidst the golden sands of Saqqara, set a new standard for luxury and innovation in the Egyptian market. It celebrated the launch of Ulter in a majestic setting, creating an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation. It was attended by a select group of celebrities, socialites, renown business men and women, high-net-worth individuals, luxury product connoisseurs, financial professionals, and global media.

The spectacular event brings together a lineup of distinguished guest speakers, each a luminary in their respective fields. This includes Angela Missoni, President of Missoni; Wafaa Hendawi, Brand Ambassador of Baccarat; Marcus Jocher from Christofle; Katiuscia Di Martino and Mehdi Benbrahim from Tiffany & Co. and globally renowned curator Giovanna Cicutto. These esteemed speakers, who have traveled to Egypt to share their expertise in bridging modern design with ancient art, culture, and heritage, offer an evening of unparalleled insight and inspiration. Their presence at the event underscores the significance of the launch of Ulter and its impact on the luxury financing landscape as well as the support it offers local luxury brands.

The exclusive guest list comprised individuals from various sectors, creating a unique atmosphere celebrating Egypt's cultural heritage while propelling Ulter onto the international stage. The strategic partnership between Valu and CulturVator by Art D’Egypte, aimed at promoting art, luxury, and cultural exchange, showcased a shared commitment to these values. This strong partnership reflects a vision of a vibrant and culturally rich Egypt, demonstrating the power of collaboration in achieving common goals.

Valu's Ulter promises to redefine the luxury shopping experience in Egypt, offering a seamless and accessible financing solution for discerning customers looking to invest in high-value products. The company's commitment to innovation and collaboration has positioned itself as a trailblazer in the financial technology sector, setting new standards and creating unparalleled customer experiences. Ulter is designed to cater to the growing demand for flexible and convenient payment solutions for high value transactions across luxury goods, furniture, home finishing, travel, automotive, and marine transport, along with more lifestyle-enabling products and services. In conjunction with Ulter’s launch, Valu has joined forces with top-tier merchants in the luxury space.

Walid Hassouna, CEO of Valu, commented on the launch, saying, “We are incredibly excited to launch our latest game-changer, Ulter, empowering customers to acquire coveted products and services offered by luxury brands and paying for high-value purchases without compromising their financial goals, by offering the highest credit limit in Egypt, surpassing all market peers by multiple folds. By choosing the historic site of Saqqara as the backdrop for this event, we aim to showcase Egypt's profound heritage to an exclusive audience of elite guests, high-net-worth clients, and prominent business figures. With an emphasis on flexibility and personalized customer care, Ulter will facilitate a worry-free ownership experience. This program, where financial accessibility meets unparalleled craftsmanship and exclusive services to redefine lifestyle-enabling experiences, is a testament to our dedication to consistently exceeding our customers’ expectations through its carefully selected luxury brand partners and across Valu’s vast network, effectively elevating their overall experience. Ulter is a key step towards driving innovative solutions and providing end-to-end, customer-centric solutions that speak directly to luxury enthusiasts.”

Nadine Abdel Ghaffar, the Founder of CulturVator by Art D’Egypte, expressed her excitement about the collaboration with Valu, stating, “We are thrilled to be working with Valu and extend a warm welcome to our esteemed guests at this exceptional celebration of human creativity and the enduring legacy of Imhotep's vision. This event delves deep into the profound influence of his work, exploring the crossroads of art, design, and societal progress. Visitors exploring the sands of Saqqara are invited to witness the fusion of ancient grandeur with contemporary creativity. This collaboration demonstrates our dedication to honoring Egypt's vibrant cultural heritage while nurturing innovative expressions in the modern era.”

Ulter brings together the expertise of Valu, the region’s leading universal financial technology company, and some of the most prominent luxury merchants in the market. Valu plans to rapidly grow its luxury brand network further in the near future. The program promises to enhance the luxury shopping and financing experience, enabling customers to acquire high value products and services from the featured partners and across Valu's expansive merchant network, with competitive financing rates and tenures.

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About Valu

Valu is the leading universal financial technology powerhouse offering customers and businesses convenient and comprehensive financial solutions. Under its product universe, Valu pioneered Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) solutions in the MENA region through U, providing customizable financing plans for up to 60 months across more than 6,500 points of sale and over 2,000 websites and apps – covering a diverse array of categories, including home appliances, electronics, home finishing, furniture, residential solar solutions, healthcare, education, travel, and fashion, among others. Valu also offers investment products, an instant cash redemption program, savings solutions, and a financing solution to facilitate the purchase of high value items in the luxury space through the AZ Valu fund and EFG Hermes ONE, Sha2labaz, Akeed, and Ulter respectively. In addition, Valu offers business-to-business solutions through Valu Business. Valu recently introduced its prepaid and credit cards in collaboration with Visa. As an award-winning fintech player in the MENA region, Valu embraces a progressive mindset with an agile workforce committed to architecting innovative financial solutions.

For further information, please contact:  

May El Gammal
Group Chief Marketing & Communications Officer of EFG Holding
melgammal@valu.com.eg

Omar Salama
Senior Communications Manager of EFG Holding
osalama@valu.com.eg   

Valu Public Relations Team
Public_Relations@valu.com.eg

In this press release, Valu 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 Valu’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.

About CULTURVATOR/ART D’ÉGYPTE

To date, Art D’Égypte founder Nadine Abdel Ghaffar has curated five highly successful exhibitions showcasing the works of over 50 Egyptian artists: Eternal Light at the Egyptian Museum (2017); Nothing Vanishes, Everything Transforms at the Manial Palace (2018) and Reimagined Narratives at four sites on Al-Mu'iz Street in Historic Cairo, a UNESCO World Heritage site (2019), as well as three international editions of Forever Is Now at the Pyramids of Giza plateau (2021, 2022, 2023). 

Culturvator was born out of a need to extend the reach of Art D’Égypte and bring all these initiatives together under one umbrella. It is a multi-disciplinary cultural platform that works with private and public entities to activate spaces for cultural promotion across all creative disciplines, spanning everything from visual arts and film to heritage, design, and music. The core of the Culturvator model is to foster and promote new collaborations across the global creative industry with the aim of creating new connections and cultural experiences for a global audience.