Cairo – Sharikat Mubasher: The Egypt Proptech Challenge 2024, Egypt's first competition for real estate technology, has announced the names of the winning startups aimed at showcasing innovative solutions in the real estate sector.
The competition was organized in collaboration with the "PROPTEX" program, the first comprehensive acceleration program for the proptech startups in the MENA region, focusing on sustainability and smart cities. The results were revealed alongside the activities of the Cityscape Egypt exhibition.
This pioneering competition, designed to promote innovation in the real estate sector, was launched for the first time in Egypt on September 25 as part of the Cityscape Egypt exhibition. In alignment with "PROPTEX's" mission to support proptech startups, the event highlighted these promising companies, providing them with an incubating and supportive environment through a comprehensive acceleration program that ensures their recognition within the proptech community.
Among the 12 competing startups, the winners of the top three places were announced, each distinguished by their innovative solutions addressing key challenges in the construction and real estate sectors.
Reblox, which secured first place, was recognized for its innovation of an eco-friendly brick made from plastic, offering an innovative solution to reduce plastic waste in the construction sector. Meanwhile, MRKOON, the second-place winner, presented a waste management platform for business-to-business (B2B) operations, contributing to the streamlining of construction and industrial waste trading in Egypt. Kennah emerged third for its technology-based platform that renews and operates underutilized properties for short-term rental, providing an effective business model for adaptive use in the hospitality sector.
Engineer Bedeir Rizk, CEO of Paragon Real Estate Development, the main supporter of the "PROPTEX" comprehensive acceleration program, stated: "I am very pleased to see this challenge taking place for the first time in Egypt after witnessing it in several countries around the world. What distinguishes Egyptian startups in this field is their immense potential and their full commitment to driving innovation in real estate technology, which has become a key engine for creating job opportunities and fostering an advanced economic environment."
He added: "We take pride in supporting these companies for a year through the 'PROPTEX' comprehensive acceleration program, in addition to forming partnerships and organizing various events to connect them with the largest developers in the sector. Today represents a new step as we seek to link these companies with end-users who play a crucial role in their success, not just with investors and developers. We reaffirm our deep commitment to continuing to provide support in every possible way to help them become the driving force in the proptech field, which represents a catalyst for supporting the real estate sector not only in Egypt but throughout the Arab world."
The winning companies were selected based on strict evaluation criteria related to solution originality, scalability, business model, and market impact. Each startup had the opportunity to present its idea to a prestigious panel of senior figures in the Egyptian real estate sector, including Abdallah Sallam, President and CEO of Madinet Masr; Mohamed Farouk, Chairman and CEO of Mobica; Dina El-Shenoufy, Chief Investment Officer at Flat6Labs; and Zeina Mandour, Venture Investments Manager at DAR Ventures.