Former e& CEO Hatem Dowidar backs Cairo's Tactful AI in pre-Series A extension

CAIRO — Tactful AI has extended its pre-Series A round with a direct investment from Hatem Dowidar, the former group CEO of e&, at an undisclosed amount.

Dowidar led e& from 2020 to March 2026 and was previously CEO of Vodafone Egypt. He joins the Cairo-based agentic customer experience startup as a direct investor rather than through a fund vehicle.

Tactful AI, founded by Mohamed Elmasry and Mohamed Hassan with an R&D hub in Cambridge, builds infrastructure for agentic customer experience. The company reports 11.7x ARR growth since January 2025 and a 32x surge in monthly customer conversations, with clients including Elaraby Group, Raneen, 2B, Lucky One, Erada Finance and Simplex. Its original $1 million pre-Series A closed in February 2026, co-led by Foras AI and M Empire.

A next-generation agentic AI product reveal is teased for the coming months, and the company is targeting a Series A in 2027. Individual cheques from operators of Dowidar's seniority often precede institutional rounds, since they signal insider confidence in the revenue numbers.

Watch the product reveal and whether the 2027 Series A lands with a regional or international lead.

Fintech Gate first reported the investment.