Special: Doing it differently | Marakez Exec Vice Chairman Dasha Badrawi

Special: Doing it differently | Marakez Exec Vice Chairman Dasha Badrawi

From Making It by The Enterprise Company

July 14, 2025 · 1h 4m

About this episode

Dasha Badrawi discusses his journey in the real estate industry and the developments in Egypt's North Coast.

For the last few decades, Sahel has cemented its place as a go-to summer destination for many. Clear waters. Crisp weather. Buzzing nightlife.  Last year, the Ras El-Hekma deal swung the spotlight on the potential of Sahel as a regional investment hub. But what exactly are we building up there?   In this special episode of Making It, we speak to Marakez Executive Vice Chairman Dasha Badrawi.  Dasha stumbled onto the real estate industry in the mid-2000s, and he has been at its forefront ever since. Having been brought up in the UK, his ties to Egypt remained unwavering, and so did his penchant for creation. For the last decade, he has been at the helm of Marakez. Ushering in iconic projects like Mall of Arabia and District 5, Dasha has pushed forward a philosophy that centers innovation, team effort and homegrown partnerships. In conversation with Patrick, Dasha opens up about his early years as a lawyer and entrepreneur, the challenges posed by Egypt’s unique real estate financing model, the way buyers should assess developers, and how favoring recurring revenue through retail and commercial properties was key to Marakez’s success. They speak…

People in this episode

Host: Patrick

Guest: Dasha Badrawi

Topics covered

  • real estate
  • investment
  • Egypt
  • North Coast
  • innovation

Keywords

  • Marakez
  • Mall of Arabia
  • District 5
  • real estate financing
  • recurring revenue

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Mall of Arabia, District 5

Books & works: Making It, Destination Sahel

Places: Sahel, UK, Egypt, North Coast

More episodes of Making It

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Making It podcast page.