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The Curation by Nour Hassan
The Curation, formerly Radical Contemporary, is a Digital Curator and Podcast based between Cairo, Dubai & Jeddah. We curate everything from art, fashion, and design, to culture, wellness and tech to present you with only the best brands, founders, products and pioneers.
The Curation by Nour Hassan
Eng. Mohamed Edris: From Real Estate Developer to Pioneering Visionary
What does it mean to create spaces where people truly live, not just exist?
Eng. Mohamed Edris, the visionary behind Mabany Edris, shares how his journey from construction engineer to pioneering developer has transformed Egypt’s landscapes—from Sheikh Zayed to Ras El Hekma.
Driven by the joy of turning empty desert into thriving communities, Edris builds with purpose: medical facilities, logistics hubs, and residential compounds designed around real needs, not fleeting trends. His landmark projects include ASAYLA, the first compound in the renowned Asyut area of Southern Egypt—launched during the pandemic—and KOUN in Ras El Hekma, a bold embodiment of the “be your natural self” concept that’s redefining the North Coast experience. At the heart of his work lies a commitment to credibility: completing projects before starting new ones.
Through bold moves and deep community insight, Edris proves that real estate is not just about bricks and cement—it’s about building human experiences.
Visit our YouTube channel to watch the full interview on The Curation Podcast or Mabany Edris's page, or listen on your favorite podcast platform.
The podcast interview was one of the most important interviews with engineer Mohamed Idris, engineer and CEO and founder of Mabani Idris, the real estate developer who has more than one project in Egypt. We were sitting in the corner of Ras Al-Hikma in this interview, in the north side, and this is one of the best projects in Ras Al-Hikma. Currently the buildings of Idris have many developments in 6th October and in New Zayed and in Asyut, including Green Green series from 1 to 6, asyla in Asyut and Ons in New Zayed, which they just launched this year. We talked about many things, including the career of engineer Mohamed and how he started and how he was able to develop the buildings of Idris to be a developer not only in the residential real estate, but also in the medical. They have a hospital that is useful for mater hospital, which is the best maternity hospital in Egypt, and a number of other projects in logistics and sectors other than residential real estate development. So we talked about everything and you learned a lot from this interview and I hope you also learn a lot from this interview. You can watch it on YouTube, on the page of Mabani Idris, or my page, the Curation Podcast, or listen to it on all podcast platforms.
Speaker 1:I'm currently sitting with the engineer, mohamed Idris. Engineer and chairman of Mabani Idris, the real estate developer. I'd like to know first about your background.
Speaker 2:I'm very happy to be with you and I'd like to say something nice. I'm Mohamed Idris, a engineer from Cairo since 1985. I worked in engineering and construction. My father may God have mercy on him was an engineer too. I also liked the profession of engineering. I started in construction. After 25 years I started the real estate development started. It is more like a hobby than a priority. Real estate development is about living. It is not about building a building that doesn't move.
Speaker 2:Real estate development is about doing something that society needs, whether it is residential or any, any activity in real estate development. It's nice that it works and has life. Can you imagine building a building or a compound and you see it's lit up and you see people moving. Let me tell you there was a project I was passing by and I was watching it. How many people live there? How many cars do we have? How much light is there? Real estate development is a beautiful thing.
Speaker 2:From the beginning of the project we would come to shoot next to a certain sign, the beginning of the project, and then the stages of the project, and then the project would end. We would shoot it after… Of course there was a mobile phone list and we would have a camera to shoot. Real estate development is a life. I mean, you develop a life and of course it comes from studying the needs that you're doing. True, we had a variety of activities in real estate development over our life. There was a variety between residential development and commercial development, and even medical. There was a difference between residential and commercial development.
Speaker 2:We even did medical work. We did medical work, of course, which is a beautiful thing. I was invited to the hospital in Sheikh Zayed. We also did warehousing. We did it in a nice way. We met the needs of multinational companies. We had big names and we still have a lot of them. We made the right needs for warehouses. We also had a business project in Sheikh Zayed and then we developed the Central Avenue. Thank God, we are wearing something new, the contemporary style, because the the product was old. The variety of this product makes me happy. It makes me happy and also makes it a beautiful challenge for success. Of course, he always tries to set a goal. He tries to strive for it, to achieve it, so that he feels that there is development, there is a challenge. I know that there is a challenge. As I said, the body gives you something. It's a challenge, so you want to work to achieve it.
Speaker 1:We always think that in everything there's a vision and in everything there's a vision, and I see that you're one of the most real estate developers like Bani Idris who have a vision and pioneers in the market. So I'd like to ask you in your opinion, why is the name Mabani Idris better known in the city of 6 October in particular? Because I think there was a plan and a certain way you moved with it as a strategy when you started, of course, strategy and the Egyptian warehousing services. So I would like to know why the name is more famous in the city of Sete October than the rest of Cairo or the rest of Egypt.
Speaker 2:It's a very nice question. The first question. There is a part of the first one. It's true we work on our philosophy and strategy as developers. In the end, we serve a client, so we see what the client needs and what they need, whether it's residential, industrial or commercial or medical.
Speaker 1:I don't want to say that we are doing him any good, me and my sister, dr.
Speaker 2:Omaima and Dr.
Speaker 1:Amira Idris and Dr Amira Idris.
Speaker 2:And Ms Amani as well.
Speaker 2:I have Dr Omaima and she was one of the great names in medicine Not because of my sister, Of course. We visited many hospitals and we saw what are the advantages and disadvantages of each hospital. But try to do the circulation, for example, how to make the dirty and clean in the operations better Right. How to make the sterilization better. We study everything. How can we simplify the client? How can we give him his needs? How can we make it the same in the apartment? We also study the client's needs in the apartment. If it's a two or three-room apartment, Right. We give him proper spaces, Not spaces that are just anything, Spaces that are used.
Speaker 2:We study how services can, the services available to the customer. We study the customer's needs and his finances. How much does he pay? What is the customer's appearance? We also draw the customer's appearance in marketing. He has children and his family needs the money, how to manage the business, the services and even the project. We study the client's needs and work on them. This is a great success factor for us For every project yes, why did we go to October and Sheikh Zayed, which is Basamiya, West Cairo For each project? Then the world in the middle of the country started to develop, so there was a need to expand, either in the east or the west of Cairo, A complete diversity of all the residents, the merchants and all that. So we had a vision and the west of Cairo could have better work. Of course, Cairo is beautiful.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So we went to October and Sheikh Zahir, and the world was still in the desert.
Speaker 1:How long have you been in Sheikh Zayed?
Speaker 2:We've been in it for 20 years now.
Speaker 1:So there were no letters or any documents.
Speaker 2:No, there were no letters or construction work. No, there was no construction work.
Speaker 1:No there was no construction work.
Speaker 2:No, there was no construction work. No, there was no construction work. I remember the sale of the mansion was small. I remember the sale of the mansion was small. There was no demand for Sheikh Zayed or Oktober. We were convincing people that this was the future. We were convincing people that this was the future. We were convincing people that this was the future.
Speaker 2:And we had a variety of real estate agents, not just one product. We see services and needs. What does our client need? He needs housing, commercial services, we needed entertainment, we needed treatment, Of course, because we had an integration with Family Business, we also achieved a good success, and also the issue of the logistics and all that, so we were more focused on the West Cairo area.
Speaker 1:I would like to talk to you about credibility and the story that the client is the most important thing for you in the buildings of Idris, really, and that's why you don't like to make false promises, to say that the project will be completed in a few years, but not in time. You always take every project as it is start, finish, give and then the next project. Is there a reason for this strategy or the way of working that not all real estate developers follow? There are many developers who start many projects, but you chose to focus on the credibility so that the client becomes very loyal to the buildings of Idris, right?
Speaker 2:No credibility must be present in the construction. So this is not. This is present, sorry, it's present. Yes, it's present, I mean.
Speaker 1:But it's not always the way of all developers. But this is a special thing in the business.
Speaker 2:It's everyone's way of working and their philosophy, Right. For example, there's someone who opens a lot of jobs and he says, God willing, one by one, we'll give it to you. Right. And there's someone who says I'll finish and commit and I'll try to commit to our client and he'll return some of the references to us. Also, we're also working in manufacturing and business where the product can be done once in a lifetime. It is a one-time event, Right?
Speaker 2:Happiness in the eyes of the client when he receives his unit or his thing gives you a feeling of artistic success, Success that you have died with what you are committed to and you're satisfied with what you're committed to. So that's what makes us focus on credibility with the client, and we believe that the client is the best propaganda for us. I mean client trust, client satisfaction. That's something that's important for us. We don't believe in propaganda or this propaganda, and there are people. Of course companies love propaganda or marketing more than the topic. They spend a lot of money. Of course we do marketing, which is very important, but I save a part of it by giving the client the pleasure of fulfilling his ambitions and commitments and all his dreams. It's a beautiful thing. It makes us very happy and all his dreams.
Speaker 1:It's a beautiful thing. It makes us very happy. Indeed, it's a beautiful thing. And it takes me to the next question about Asyut. Right now, within the vision and within the pioneering strategy of Mabani Idris, you're the first developer to make a compound in Asyut, which is a compound asylum, and that was I mean it was. I personally see it as not very brave, or very brave in the real estate market. So I'd like to know the research that went into this topic, your thoughts, why you chose Asyut and give the audience a better idea about the market and the client in Asyut, how they look and how they do it, because I think that not many people understand this market well.
Speaker 2:Of course, your question makes me very happy because you're telling me about a success story which I'm proud of, and I am proud of it. You will find that in the life of any professional there are beautiful highlights. For me, the challenge was that the Romanian Society asked the volunteers to go to Egypt. Talba en el mutawwineen Tla'a'u li Sa'id Masr Fahna Takhadna Tahadi. Da En ehna nruh Ana mish Mis Sa'id Masr Yani tab'an Afthakhir Lawa kutu Tab'an Mis Sa'id Masr Yani Fahna Amalna Bahasta Suqiyah Ahsan Hitta F, where the growth opportunities are more, the number of residents is more the shape of the units, the history of the West and the East. Asiut is the new Asiut and another city called Hadab next to the airport. So the direction of the people was that some of the developers went to Hadab, I was Israel towards Asiut.
Speaker 1:Asiut is the new.
Speaker 2:Asiut. Asiut is the expansion towards the east. So my direction was that I felt that it is the growth and the People told me that I was not getting anything. We launched the project. The coronavirus pandemic came. The world was sleeping, I said when I went there. I said, after the coronavirus, and the world is sleeping, I said, oh my God, I am in trouble.
Speaker 1:The road has fallen hard. I would like you to talk more about going there yourself.
Speaker 2:And you met the peopleyut people there, I will continue. I went there and met the Asyut people, their friends, because they are also from there. They ask about me in Cairo, the company, its news, its projects, but they are still committed to me. What is the reason for Cairo to come here?
Speaker 1:At the same time, you were offering them a new product Exactly, compound, exactly, and this wasn't there.
Speaker 2:It was there. There was a company that was trying to do it, but it wasn't very successful. Okay, it was in the other side, which is the Hadova region.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So I got to know people. I started I don't want to tell you. I wanted to ask people to see how the people living in the apartment look like, how they clean it, how they clean it if they have a car or not, where they drive, how they get in if they have someone to help them at home, what are their services all of that? At first people were not convinced. We tried to understand them. We did several campaigns to clarify more. We finished the mock-up as we finished the mock-up for the villa. Thank God now the world has changed a lot.
Speaker 1:I would like to talk more about this part that you yourself went to the place and met the client and his needs. So you not only presented them the compound, the idea of the new compound, but also in the medical park. Is that correct?
Speaker 2:That was an addition success for us, for the compound of Asaila. By the way, the name Asaila was also true. We chose it because always Asait people call them Asaita, so we chose the name Asaila so that we can call them Asaila. Of course, asait people are Asail people, mashaallah, and they are people, yes, yes, in the project of the residential from the largest universities in Egypt, asyut Medical Center, from the largest university hospitals, asyut, mashallah Medical Center and Education, and Asyut actually treats the patients from the beginning of the Bani Suif to Aswan. This is a lot of international doctors who are present in Asyut. We need new facilities, a new vision for the real estate developer to serve them there. And thank God when we started the Asaila Medical project, thank God, the successes, thank God, thank God, we were not expecting it and people we also lost their trust so they understood what we were doing and, thank God, the project is promising the successes. We cooperated with the greatest doctors in Asyut to make a new type of transplantation in Asyut. We hope it will be successful.
Speaker 1:You were able to change the culture and the way you think about buying, off-plant buying in a compound, which is the first ends and is made in Asyut. What is your feeling that you were able to make a success story in a place like Asyut? Not only did you buy the product, but more than that, you became loyal clients, you bought more and you have more projects. What is your feeling that you were able to achieve this?
Speaker 2:I don't want to tell you how much I was happy.
Speaker 2:From the point of view of the company, it's the entry to a new market, which is the new Asyut, and the success that we achieved in Asyla.
Speaker 2:I don't want to tell you how much we were, of course, we had marketing companies that raised the market, the needs of the average customer, what he wants, what he lives in and what his needs are. If we take it from the transfer of a gated compound and the unity in this way and all that, at first, when I was going to the market, I was trying to make sure of the marketing, to confirm the results, I was surprised to see that the results were not successful. I thought that was a challenge. The biggest challenge was that some of them became our clients and bought the products. It was a success. It was beautiful, thank God. So, thank God, it was a very strong transition and we were able to convince the client with the product and, thank God, we have people who started to live there and they are very happy and, thank God, our vision in Asyut was that it started to grow better than the other area.
Speaker 1:Great and we are now sitting in Kun, the head of Hikma, and we talked about Asyut. We are now going to go outside and try to look at the project more in Koun and show the audience more the beautiful views, the amazing views on the sea, 360 view, and talk more about the Koun project and the facilities and amenities that are available here. View, thank you.
Speaker 3:In front of the big sea, everything in the world appears. We see the whole world. We feel that there is no one in the world but us, and the closer we get to the sea, the more we reach the child inside us. We'll see you next time. You will see the sea and the lagoon, koun, the head of wisdom, the coast on his life, from Mabani Idris.
Speaker 1:We talked a lot about Mabani Idris's vision and we talked about Osyut and about the city of 6 October and the projects that are available, like Green from 1 to 6. Moustachferou, fayda and the other project of Mabani Idris. We are now sitting in Koun, roush Al-Hakma. I want to talk about the name Koun. Why did you choose it? Because the name itself gives an idea of the concept of the place the old square, the good square, as they say on social media. It's simple, there's no cost. So I want to know why you chose the name Koun.
Speaker 2:That's a very nice question because people are not surprised what the name is. The idea we have in the project here is that we address the idea of summer. Come to your nature.
Speaker 3:Come to your nature Come.
Speaker 2:The same idea of the old beach. I am a little surprised. In Alexandria there was something different. It was a different experience. The racquet on the beach, the volleyball, the ball, the color, the child who is making a mountain out of sand on the sea. There is no cost, no show, no entertainment. You come on vacation to the sea. You want to be on your nature. I think you want to be on your nature with more money than being expensive. You want to wear what you wear. What you wear, how will I go down? How will people see me? Let it be your choice. We, candle Council, want to be at your own pace. Be at your own pace, be happy, because that's your body.
Speaker 1:You want to be happy, Correct, and you made a difference in the market with this name, but not just with the name, but with the campaigns the marketing campaigns Last year and this year. There are children eating ice cream, there are adults sitting on the beach sunbathing, normally. So I saw that there are a lot of developers who took inspiration from this and all the thinking returned to the idea of the market, which was like before. So this year was a very pioneering year, so I would like to know more about the strategy in sales and marketing that you took, that you sell almost all the projects in less than two years.
Speaker 2:We started the first. We sold the project. We did a good amount of sales in two years, but it will continue with us for the third year, god willing the next year.
Speaker 1:There is still a third year.
Speaker 2:Yes in sales, but they will continue with us for the next year or so. Of course, marketing took the idea from us that we want to be able to address people, family and all their individuals. We want to be in their shoes. So the child who eats ice cream, who plays in the sand, the adult man who is happy.
Speaker 1:He lives his life, he lives his life.
Speaker 3:He lives his life.
Speaker 2:He doesn't have to have muscles that show that he doesn't know what or that he has beautiful views. No, we are the family. There is the child and there is the man who wants to be in his nature and there is the woman who wants to be in her nature. We used, even in the marketing colors to give me a feeling of the beautiful sea, the beautiful blue that we are distinguished by Correct. So it turned out to be a nice thing.
Speaker 1:The truth is easy.
Speaker 2:Of course, it gave the developers, the colleagues who are with us in the area, an idea, so we found them. There are people who just came down this year and took some ideas.
Speaker 1:But it's good. It shows that the market and the client want this and they really want this, so this is a very good thing. I would like to ask you the last question, Lina what are the amenities and facilities that are available that are different from other cities in the coast?
Speaker 2:We have a cool project which is very nice. It's 110 feet high. We have a cool project which is soft and nice. It's 110 feet high. We have a variety of units, from the first unit, which is one bedroom, to the standard room villas. We have all the units which are two rooms, three rooms, twin town, standard room villas. We have the use of the largest spaces. This is one of the use of the spaces. This is one of the ideas of the company that we don't make spaces that don't have anything to do with it. They are smart spaces. Yes, these are all. There is nothing that doesn't have anything to do with it.
Speaker 1:These are smart spaces all, even in the house. Separately, yes, and used Okay.
Speaker 2:So this was the first thing. We have about 70% of the units that see the sea or the rest of it. Okay, we have a hotel that serves the place. There is also a nice service area for all the things that anyone can need from the people living in the place. We have a slide in the floors that use the natural slide that is on the ground. We have a height of 34 meters that we are sitting in and, of course, the view shows from behind us, the view of the sea and how the view is done.
Speaker 1:The levels are all there, so everyone has double views.
Speaker 2:We have a very good architectural office, so we can work on all this so that it can give a vision and a vision To the buildings and the city In a smart way. For the children, the women, the men, the young, so that we can make our client smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart, smart smart.
Speaker 1:There are obstacles in the compound itself that they face. So how can KUN solve these problems as a compound and as a project, and generally, what distinguishes KUN Project from the other compounds on the coast? In the specific things that you added, you made sure that, as you said in the first interview, you always put the client first.
Speaker 2:You always put the client first. Of course, we are distinguished by the company that we have all the time that we give in our agreement, thank God, and this is also what we want to preserve. God willing, we will preserve it. We are the project. God willing, it will be delivered in the order that we agreed on in the agreement and this is something that we will distinguish with and this is one of the important goals that we will try to maintain, god willing. I would also like to clarify to you that we also, in our studies for the project, we looked at the services that the available to be on the beach Paddle, we have children's playgrounds, we have football fields, so that all the sports that are available, those who want to practice sports, gym, of course, is available, all the beautiful services that make people happy and happy in the place, very nice.
Speaker 1:And now the last question for you what are the future plans for Idris In the future? What's next? God willing.
Speaker 2:What's next is that we will continue too. Projects, god willing. We hope they will be successful. God willing they will be well studied. We have work, god willing, in Cairo, in the west of Cairo in October and the area of Sheikh Zayed. We have a project, god willing, in Cairo, in the west of Cairo, in October, in the area of Sheikh Zayed's extension. We have a project, god willing, that will come out soon and there are other projects that we are studying in October in the city of Sphinx. We also have projects in Asyut extension, god willing, with a new project. God willing to achieve the success of the second step and also to achieve a challenge for us that we will go to the second step and succeed as we succeeded. May God bless us in every way.
Speaker 1:That's right, because the name of Bani Idris will not be only on October 6th, but also on the second step and in the neighborhood, God willing, and of course, in the south.
Speaker 2:God willing, thank you so much, thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you.