UNLOCKING VALUE

Mahmoud AbdelMaksoud, Cofounder and Co-CEO of Nawy Unlocked, is transforming Egypt's rental market by converting idle unfinished units into income-generating homes. After joining Nawy in January 2025 via acquisition, he plans to scale from 300 units to 7,000 within five years.

- BY HAGAR OMRAN

A funding surge is reshaping MENA's startup scene, with investments hitting $6.6 billion in the first nine months of 2025—up 306% year-on-year—and proptech pulling in $803 million, second only to fintech, according to Wamda. In Egypt, nearly 80 million square meters of residential-led developments are under construction or recently announced across Greater Cairo, excluding the New Capital, according to Savills, creating an opportune moment for Nawy Unlocked, a platform turning idle unfinished units into income-generating investments.

"From the very start, I believed we could turn unfinished homes into something valuable and change the way people live and invest in a market full of potential like Egypt," says Mahmoud AbdelMaksoud, Cofounder and Co-CEO of Nawy Unlocked.

Launched in 2022 as ROA, Nawy Unlocked structures each contract over six years, six months to finish the unit, followed by five and a half years of leasing, with revenues shared according to each party's contribution. "If we pay 50% of the finishing, we take 50% of the rent. If the property doesn't rent, we lose our share too. That keeps us fully aligned with homeowners," the 30-year-old entrepreneur explains, highlighting the model's builtin accountability and partnership ethos.

AbdelMaksoud first encountered the idea that would later shape his entrepreneurial journey while living in the U.S., where he studied from 2012 to 2019. He completed his high school diploma at St. George's School and, while pursuing a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering at George Washington University, worked at construction company Whiting-Turner as project engineer intern in 2018.