Five questions before any investing app.

The apps below are ones you can research, not recommendations. Platforms change their products and fees often, so the most useful thing I can give you is a way to judge any of them.

The five questions

1. Who licenses it? The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) in Egypt, the DFSA in Dubai. No licence you can check yourself, no deal.
2. What do I actually own? A share, a unit in a fund, or just a claim on the company?
3. What does it cost? Entry, yearly, exit and currency fees.
4. What could go wrong? Read the risk page that nobody reads.
5. How do I get out? How fast, and at what price?

Three fund types, three jobs

Most apps in Egypt start you with funds: a pooled basket run by a professional manager.

• Fixed income funds hold T-bills, bonds and deposits. They earn interest that builds up daily. Low risk, though they can dip when rates move. Their job: stability.
• Equity funds hold shares of many companies. They earn from price growth and dividends, and can fall sharply in bad years. Their job: long-term growth.
• Gold funds hold gold without the storage. They earn only from gold’s price. Their job: protection when the pound weakens.

For any fund, check what it holds, its fees, the minimum and how fast you can redeem.

Thndr, and Thndr Alpha

Thndr is an FRA-licensed Egyptian app offering gold, equity and fixed-income funds, Egyptian stocks, and US stocks for Egyptian residents. It has removed commissions on funds; its digital gold charges 1% to buy and 1% to sell.

Its tool Alpha helps with the hardest beginner question: how much to put where. You answer three questions about your goal, how you feel about ups and downs, and whether you’ll need the money within a year. It then suggests a Starter Pack of equity, fixed income and gold funds, with the percentage and amount for each. You can invest once or monthly, adjust the mix, or retake the quiz. There’s a Sharia-compliant option.

Property, in shares

In Egypt: Nawy Shares runs a fund structure under FRA supervision, with down payments from about 20,000 to 25,000 pounds; you exit when units are sold, and there’s no resale market yet. SAFE, by Madinet Masr, sells shares from 5,000 pounds, paid once, with a resale market between investors.

In Dubai: Stake and SmartCrowd are both regulated by the DFSA. With SmartCrowd you own shares in a company that owns the unit, from about 500 dirhams. Stake offers exit windows twice a year. Rental income varies by property and isn’t guaranteed. Prices are in dirhams, which are pegged to the dollar.

Moving money: a service, not an investment

Nsave offers a USD account used by Egyptian freelancers and remote workers. It holds and moves money; it doesn’t invest it. Before opening any account like this, check where the money is held, the fees, the limits and who is eligible.

Red flags: walk away if you hear

• “Guaranteed high returns.”
• “Decide today, spots are limited.”
• No licence you can look up yourself.
• No clear way to get your money out.

Apps make investing easier. They don’t make it risk-free. Ask the five questions every time.