Egyptian proptech startup, Nawy raises Seed round from Sawiris Family Office
The Cairo-based prop-tech startup, Nawy, announced the raise of an oversubscribed seven-figure Seed round led by the Sawiris family office. Other participants in the investment round include notable angels, including Hatem Dowidar (renowned telecom leader and angel investor).
Founded in 2016 under the brand name “Cooing” by Mohamed Abou Ghanima, Abdel-Azim Osman, Ahmed Rafea, Aly Rafea, and Mostafa El Beltagy, the Nawy is an end-to-end platform that offers users the chance to browse real estate properties located across Egypt.
The startup currently has an office presence in two Egyptian cities; in New Cairo and 6th of October City, and they plan to use this new investment to improve their technology, diversify their business model by introducing more products and expand their team to serve more areas across Egypt
Over the last 5 years, Nawy claims to have served over 30,000 individuals on their quest to find their perfectly matched property, sold billions of pounds in GMV, and, despite a turbulent year in real estate, the startup said it is on course to reach 300 percent growth in 2021.
Giving users an interesting real estate experience
Nawy makes it easy for users to find the houses of their choice by letting them run elaborate searches, with customizable criteria such as unit space, price, location, and much more. Users can also cast a wider net and filter down from there. This feature provides users with full autonomy over their real estate decisions instead of more traditional methods involving multiple parties and less-informed decisions.
This centralization and fully integrated model renders a handoff between an online platform and brokerage obsolete, ushering in a more efficient, user-friendly approach. Once customers feel confident in fulfilling a purchase, Nawy’s brokerage arm provides a seamless transaction process using the expertise of veteran agents and consultants, at no additional cost.
“There’s a considerable chunk of time lost from a homebuyer’s end due to the lack of information and transparency, which breeds anxiety within customers. Even more traditional methods, such as push sales from cold calling, are leaving customers more skeptical than ever.” Mostafa El Beltagy, CEO of Nawy explained.
He added that they intend to become the leading platform for real estate search in Egypt, “Nawy is vying to become the leading real estate search engine and platform equipping customers with all the information and insight they need to select a home in Egypt’s top gated communities. This is enabled by our fully integrated model which includes the strongest client service/sales team aiming to serve the customer’s needs, our in-house technology, and seasoned experts and consultants in the real estate domain.”
Onsi Sawiris, who leads the Sawiris family office, added “Within the realms of proptech, there’s a breakneck speed of evolution in service offerings, and how to better offer a fully integrated model that can be executed in Egypt. Nawy has paved the way for it to be manifested and realized, and I am in full belief of their vision’s viability. Nawy has checked all the quintessential boxes from acquiring the right team and talent to ensuring their backend is a truly inventive one that can deliver a seamless and transparent homebuyer’s journey.”
The Egyptian real estate sector is projected to remain one of the most influential sectors in terms of growth rate as it accounts for more than 17% of the country’s GDP.