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 the 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. Instead, it has become a necessity and a tool for enhancing performance and decision-making. Further elaborating on this point, he 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. He emphasized how this information helps clients, developers, and foreign investors make decisions more quickly. Abbas emphasized that the New Administrative Capital (NAC) is the epitome of smart technology infrastructure that enables the integration of technology in all aspects of the city, boosting its competitiveness compared to other markets. He outlined plans to use cutting-edge technologies that support the development of smart cities that provide an improved quality of life via integrated technology solutions. Furthermore, Abbas stated that the Ministry of Justice and ACUD are working together to initiate the national real estate ID project, pointing out that each real estate asset in the NAC is given a unique code. He made the point that the NAC's overall growth strategy, which includes the NAC's transportation infrastructure, is largely shaped by the registration of real estate properties inside it. Moreover, Bedeir Rizk, CEO of Paragon Developments, said that proptech provides the real estate industry with solutions to reduce the cost of materials and boost sustainability. proptech also enhances sales operations, enables online registration of property ownership through online portals, and improves the management of facilities. He also highlighted the importance of enhancing the user experience of proptech as an essential pillar to guarantee its successful growth in Egypt. Abdallah Sallam, President and CEO of Madinet Masr, highlighted that the subject of the roundtable was new and worthy of attention, as this technology has become crucial for the facilitation of operations in general. He emphasized that a distinction should be made between proptech and contech. Sallam elaborated that the integration of proptech has evolved into a tangible reality amidst technological advancements. This technology can effectively eliminate barriers and expedite task completion. Proptech encompasses various stages of the real estate sales process, commencing from sales initiation and customer familiarization. It can facilitate customer acquaintance with real estate offerings, master planning, and outreach to international clientele. Moreover, it extends its utility to post-sales services and facility management. For his part, Ahmed Mansour, CEO of Cred, stated that technology has accelerated the production pace of [building] materials in the Middle East and Africa. Mansour elucidated that the company leverages artificial intelligence across various sectors, such as market research and analysis. He highlighted the challenge posed by the insufficient data on units within the Egyptian real estate market. Comparatively, data accuracy abroad aligns closely with reality at a rate of 90-95%, whereas in Egypt, this figure hovers around 50-60%. He emphasized the company's ongoing efforts to enhance its operations, including the development of an application integrating augmented reality. This application facilitates communication with sales representatives and streamlines all transactions through its interface. For his part, Ahmed Abdallah, Vice Chairman of REDCON Properties, stated that the Egyptian real estate sector accounts for 20% of the national GDP and 14% of the labour market, stressing the need to search for quick solutions to maximize investments within Egypt, especially in light of the current situation in which Egypt suffers from problems, such as inflation and the high cost of financing, one of these solutions is the use of technology in real estate. The Vice Chairman of REDCON Properties said that it is necessary to employ technology in the market and benefit from virtual reality (VR) features, which is one of the real estate technology tools that allows workers to explore properties in detail through three-dimensional virtual mobile phones. It provides an experience similar to physically visiting the property. Abdallah said the developer must have this technology as it can be used remotely, making it easier for the customer to make a purchasing decision. Abdallah emphasized the necessity to develop an integrated marketing plan that contributes to attracting more investments in proptech, highlighting the announcement by ACUD chief regarding the initiative to promote investments in proptech and emphasizing that the company would be the main sponsor of this initiative. In this regard, Abdallah announced that REDCON would join this initiative, whether by establishing a specialized committee to explore projects and unique ideas in the field of proptech, as well as supporting them by establishing business incubators sponsored by developers. He added that Egypt has many opportunities with its large market that requires more services and projects, emphasizing that the available investment opportunities are diverse and that the country enjoys the necessary political security, stability, and support to attract investments. He noted that the size of the global proptech market will reach $90 billion globally within the next few years. On this occasion, Karim Shaalan, CEO of Royal Developments, said that Egypt is new to real estate technology compared to other countries, but with the rapid progress of technological development, Egypt has begun to take serious steps to expand the use of technology in real estate. In his statement during the conference, he pointed out that North America accounts for approximately 45% of global proptech followed by Europe at 30%; the remaining percentage is distributed among the rest of the world. He indicated that the use of proptech in the Middle East is generally limited, except for the United Arab Emirates, which accounts for about 50% of proptech applications in the Middle East. He added that proptech has a positive impact on the real estate sector in Egypt, especially real estate investments, as it aids developers in making informed decisions, from designing the property to collecting data and information. He pointed out that foreign countries are designing small portfolios to invest in real estate units while having all the necessary data about the unit. He stressed the need to collect data so that there is an accurate database that helps customers easily find properties while being able to access all the essential details. Shaalan called on real estate companies to adopt the ideas of real estate startups within the framework of development and marketing, as well as build awareness among companies and customers regarding the importance of technology. Meanwhile, Ahmed Kadri, CEO of SAK Developments, urged the fast adoption of blockchain technology in real estate, a promising sector in Egypt. Kadri emphasized that Egypt is a new market for real estate technology, as there are less than 40 real estate technology companies in Egypt, even though the real estate market represents about 20% of the gross domestic product. He stressed Egypt's need to apply blockchain technology to enhance the flexibility and ease of real estate sales and he called on the government to regulate units by registering every property within Egypt using QR codes.
