“We want to make Egyptians happier and Egypt a better place by developing meaningful and innovative properties for the privileged, and helping provide safe and sustainable dwellings for the underprivileged.” – M. Abdallah Sallam, founder and CEO of Minka Development.
Real estate companies create the built environment within which we spend most of our lives and fulfill one of our most basic needs. Despite that, the sector in Egypt is not famous for its innovation. According to the Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities estimated that 500,000 to 600,000 people in Egypt look for housing annually. And that usually leaves Egyptians with a supply gap that the industry is yet to fill. And that’s what makes the emergence of Minka Development, a rising Egyptian real estate company trying to change our lives for the better through property innovation, a promising potential. We met the founder and CEO of Minka Development, M. Abdallah Sallam, to take a tour through the inspiration that breathed life into Minka, what makes it special, the influences that drove him there and where he sees Minka and the real estate sector headed in the future.
Where Does the Name Minka Development Come From?
The name ‘Minka’ has both a Japanese and an Arabic meaning. “I tried to fuse both our purpose and our function in our name. The spiritual meaning — which gives us our purpose — comes from the Arabic word meaning ‘from you’ (which is written as منكَ in Arabic). And it refers to God, who I believe is the reason behind everything,” clarified Sallam.
The Japanese name of the word literally translates to “house of the people” and there is even a school of architecture named after it. “The Japanese meaning gives us our function,” elaborated Sallam. “We want to make Egyptians happier and Egypt a better place by developing meaningful and innovative properties for the privileged, and helping provide safe and sustainable dwellings for the underprivileged.”
“I just love innovation and the idea of not being innovative scares me.”
One of Minka Development’s projects is The Hoft; a hybrid property built to for business travelers, entrepreneurs and trendsetters looking to focus their energy on their work. Photo via Minka Development.
What is Minka Development Bringing to the Real Estate Table?
Minka Development has been in the market for four years, but what makes them stand out beside their previous triumphs, is their bold promise to never repeat their successful properties. Instead, they’re set out to continually innovate and level up. But why make such a risky undertaking?
“People keep asking me about this all the time. They say, ‘are you really up for this challenge? Are you really not going to repeat your successful projects?’, but I just love innovation and the idea of not being innovative scares me,” said Sallam, explaining the personal reason behind this outstanding promise.”
But it’s not just about Sallam’s passion for innovation. Sallam believes it’s also a reasonable business decision. “The real estate market needs that. And it doesn’t make sense for tailor-made solutions to be replicated,” he posited. “Plus, we believe our customers need and will highly appreciate living in something that hasn’t been replicated and is special.”
The only thing that could make Minka Development consider replicating a project, however, could be discovering a pressing demand for it in an area with elements similar to where the project was first built. “And even then, we won’t necessarily do it. But we could consider it.”
“He went through numerous crises, including world war two, and struggled through many failures and setbacks but always got back up.”
Sallam’s Influences: The Innovative Grandfather of the Sallam Family and Steve Jobs
When we asked Sallam about his influences, he first mentioned his grandfather and the Sallam family as a primary one. “My family, from my grandfather to my father and my uncles, were very innovative entrepreneurs who did business in unique ways and many of their innovative solutions were ahead of their time. And partly, I believe, it’s in my DNA,” asserted Sallam proudly.
Sallam’s grandfather started working with his father before he could complete his education. But he was quite ambitious, he decided to venture out in the world on his own, and throughout his life, spearheaded a family of successful serial entrepreneurs that Sallam believes continue to provide him “with more support than one could wish for.”
“My grandfather is my role model,” he emphasized. “He went through numerous crises, including world war two, and struggled through many failures and setbacks but always got back up,” he added. But what amazes Sallam about the revered head of his family is the capital he started his entrepreneurial journey with back in the day. “It was only EGP 5!” he said, seemingly still amazed at the fact.
The Sallam family are behind successes in a variety of sectors. Among their most popular accomplishments are B.Tech and Olympic Group who, notably, acquired IDEAL and transformed it into the market leader in home appliances. According to Sallam, the family’s successful portfolio is — and has always been — an abundant source of great inspiration and education. “And unlike most family businesses, we were always encouraged to think of ourselves as entrepreneurs and pushed to venture out on our own as well.”
Besides the strong influence of his family, Sallam has also always been inspired by Steve Jobs’ incredible ability to innovate. “He’s a great inspiration for me.”
“We’re going to persist and I’m very optimistic about Egypt’s future. We’re in a unique position globally.”
A photo of Minka Development’s The Hoft in New Cairo, which will start delivering in 2023. Photo via Minka Development.
Minka Development’s Future and the Real Estate Sector vs. COVID-19
A saying famous in the real estate market claims that, although the sector may get sick, it’ll never die. Sallam thinks this is true. Even though business might be slow due to the COVID-19 pandemic, things will eventually look up again. “That’s because, partly, real estate is like food, water and medicine. It speaks to one of our most basic needs; shelter. But wee need to be agile to make it through,” argued Sallam.
Sallam thinks that hings may change and conventional approaches need to evolve and adapt to the situation, but the biggest challenge — in his opinion — is that we keep working and keep the market moving. “We’re going to persist and I’m very optimistic about Egypt’s future. We’re in a unique position on a global scale.”
He condones the efforts put forth by many the Egyptian government and many developers in the country in helping keep the sector alive and thriving. “”We, as Minka, are working on a very unique new project that we will be launching very soon.”
You can watch our chat with Sallam in the video below…
For more information on Minka Development, click here.
