Khaled Abbas, Chairperson and Managing Director of Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD), has announced the launch of Egypt’s first real estate startup incubator. During Invest-Gate’s roundtable, “Proptech Innovations: Shaping the Future of Real Estate,” Abbas stated that technology in the real estate sector is no longer a luxury but a necessity and a tool for enhancing performance and decision-making. Abbas emphasized the importance of using technology wisely to create an extensive real estate database that provides critical data and insights for comprehending real estate dynamics, value drivers, and utilization variables.
This information helps clients, developers, and foreign investors make informed decisions more quickly. Abbas highlighted the New Administrative Capital (NAC) as the epitome of smart technology infrastructure, enabling technology integration in all aspects of the city and boosting its competitiveness compared to other markets. He outlined plans to use cutting-edge technologies to support the development of smart cities, enhancing the quality of life via integrated technology solutions.
Furthermore, Abbas noted that the Ministry of Justice and ACUD are collaborating to initiate the national real estate ID project, assigning a unique code to each real estate asset in the NAC. This initiative is part of the NAC’s overall growth strategy, influencing the registration and management of real estate properties. Bedeir Rizk, CEO of Paragon Developments, highlighted that proptech provides solutions to reduce the cost of materials and boost sustainability.
It also enhances sales operations, enables online registration of property ownership through online portals, and improves facility management. Rizk emphasized the importance of enhancing the user experience of proptech to ensure its successful growth in Egypt. Abdallah Sallam, President and CEO of Madinet Masr, commented on the significance of proptech in facilitating operations in the real estate industry.
He stressed the need to distinguish between proptech and contech, explaining that integrating proptech eliminates barriers and expedites task completion.
Egypt’s real estate technology advancements
Proptech encompasses various stages of the real estate sales process, from sales initiation and customer familiarization to post-sales services and facility management.
Ahmed Mansour, CEO of Cred, stated that technology has accelerated the production pace of building materials in the Middle East and Africa. He highlighted the challenge posed by insufficient data on units within the Egyptian real estate market, noting that data accuracy abroad is much higher. Mansour mentioned that the company is developing an application that integrates augmented reality to facilitate communication and streamline transactions.
Ahmed Abdallah, Vice Chairman of REDCON Properties, emphasized that the Egyptian real estate sector accounts for 20% of the national GDP and 14% of the labor market. He advocated for using technology to address issues such as inflation and high financing costs. Abdallah emphasized the value of virtual reality (VR) in exploring properties and improving customer decision-making.
He announced that REDCON would join ACUD’s initiative to promote investments in proptech by establishing business incubators and supporting innovative projects. Karim Shaalan, CEO of Royal Developments, pointed out that Egypt is relatively new to real estate technology but is making significant progress. He noted that North America and Europe dominate global proptech usage, and the Middle East has limited applications, with the UAE being the exception.
Shaalan called for collecting accurate data to help customers find properties and urged real estate companies to adopt startups’ ideas in their development and marketing strategies. Ahmed Kadri, CEO of SAK Developments, urged the fast adoption of blockchain technology in the real estate sector. He emphasized the potential benefits of blockchain for enhancing the flexibility and ease of real estate sales, calling on the government to regulate and register properties using QR codes.
Given the sector’s significant contribution to the gross domestic product, Kadri highlighted the need for more real estate technology companies in Egypt.
