EFG Hermes Launches Younit, Egypt’s First Retail Algorithmic Trading API Platform

EFG Hermes, an EFG Holding company and the leading investment bank in MENA markets, today announced the launch of Younit by EFG Hermes, Egypt’s first retail algorithmic trading API platform.

Built as an open trading infrastructure layer, Younit gives retail traders, developers and students, through EFG Hermes ONE, access to the tools, data, and technology needed to automate trading strategies, test investment ideas, visualize portfolios, build trading applications, and participate in performance-based algorithmic trading challenges.

The launch marks a major step in expanding access to intelligent, automated, and app-based trading in Egypt and across the region. Through Younit, EFG Hermes is making its trading API and software development kit (SDK) available to a broader community of market participants, enabling individuals and developers to build directly on trusted market infrastructure.

“Younit represents a new chapter for retail trading in Egypt and MENA,” said Ahmed Waly, Group Head of Securities Brokerage at EFG Hermes. “For years, advanced trading infrastructure was largely limited to institutional participants. With Younit, we are opening access to the building blocks of smarter trading, automation, market data, APIs, SDKs, and analytics so traders and builders can move from reactive decision-making to more disciplined, data-driven market participation. This is not just a product launch; it is the creation of a new participation layer for the market.”

Younit is designed to serve multiple market communities through one infrastructure foundation starting with Egypt. Retail traders can use the platform to automate rule-based strategies, backtest ideas with historical data, and apply conditional execution tools for greater discipline and efficiency. Developers can build trading strategies, analytics dashboards, portfolio visualization tools, basket-trading experiences, and other market-facing analytical products. Students and university talent can use Younit to transform academic projects into practical market tools, compete in real-world challenges, and gain an opportunity to increase exposure to internships and career opportunities.

The platform will also expand the capabilities of EFG Hermes ONE, giving users access to richer analytics, smarter tools, and advanced trading functionality within an ecosystem they already trust.

Younit also reflects EFG Hermes’ efforts to support the Egyptian Exchange’s ongoing drive to modernize Egypt’s capital market and broaden technology-enabled participation. By giving retail investors, developers, and students access to market data, automation tools, and practical testing environments, the platform is designed to encourage more informed and disciplined engagement with listed equities, while contributing to the innovation ecosystem around the EGX and supporting greater market accessibility, depth, and retail participation over time.

Beyond technology access, Younit is being developed as an active community for algorithmic trading innovation. EFG Hermes plans to use the platform to launch competitions, hackathons, university challenges, summer internship programs, and performance leaderboards.

“Younit turns algorithmic trading from a theoretical concept into a practical, measurable, and collaborative experience,” said Rana El Sharqawy, Corporate Data Science and Analytics Head. “By giving participants access to data, benchmarks, APIs, and community challenges, we are creating an environment where ideas can be tested, improved, and transformed into real trading solutions. Our goal is to help build a regional community of traders, students, and developers who can use data science and automation to shape the future of market participation.”

The platform’s core purpose is to make trading infrastructure more accessible while maintaining the trust, reliability, and institutional credibility associated with EFG Hermes. Younit is built for serious use, providing developers with the technical foundation they need, while giving traders more control, insight, and structure in how they engage with the market.

“Younit is an invitation to build. We are putting real market infrastructure into the hands of Egypt’s developers, students, and innovators, and we are building this community hand in hand with them. We cannot wait to see what Egyptian talent will create,” said Ahmed Raslan, Data Science Lead.

“At EFG Hermes, we are committed to remaining at the forefront of market innovation by giving our clients powerful, accessible tools that help them engage with markets more effectively,” added Waly. “By making advanced trading infrastructure more widely available, we believe Younit can help support greater market participation and, over time, contribute to deeper retail trading activity and broader capital market development. This is how we build the market forward by giving participants the tools to build, test, and trade with greater insight.”