Shamel Aboul Fadl is a prominent Egyptian entrepreneur, widely recognised for his bold leadership and transformative role in shaping Egypt’s investment landscape. A true visionary, he is the founder and chairman of Compass Capital, a financial services firm established in 2010, which has since grown into one of Egypt’s leading private equity firms. Under his leadership, Compass has built a diverse portfolio spanning real estate, pharmaceuticals, and financial services.
An engineer by education, Aboul Fadl earned a Bachelor of Science with honours in Construction Engineering from the American University in Cairo (AUC), followed by an MBA from the prestigious Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He has since built an impressive international career in financial services, marked by innovation, strategic growth, and a commitment to excellence.
Aboul Fadl’s sharp business acumen and strategic foresight were evident early in his career. He began his professional journey in 1999 at Mansour-Maghraby Investment Company, where he focused on telecom and IT investments. In 2003, Aboul Fadl became the Vice President at Citigroup in Geneva, where he expanded the bank’s assets under management across Egypt and North Africa. In 2005, he co-founded Paragon Asset Management, a Geneva-based independent asset manager, which reached USD 950 million in assets under management. He later returned to Egypt in 2007 as Managing Partner at Pharos Holding, where he played a key role in transforming the boutique firm into a full-service investment bank.
In addition to his role at Compass Capital, Aboul Fadl is Executive Chairman of Bonyan, a leading independent real estate investment company. In 2018, Compass acquired Bonyan from Qalaa Holdings. He went on to transform the asset into Walk of Cairo, an award-winning open-air lifestyle mall in Sheikh Zayed, West Cairo.
Aboul Fadl is also Vice Chairman of Rameda Pharmaceuticals, one of Egypt’s leading pharmaceutical companies. When Aboul Fadl acquired Rameda in 2011, it was a distressed asset. Since then, it went on to grow revenues almost 30 times up to EGP 2.5billion.
In this exclusive interview, Enigma’s Founder and CEO, Yasmine Shihata, sat down with the enigmatic and inspiring Aboul Fadl to uncover the secrets behind his success and boundless ambition. Here are some exclusive excerpts from their fascinating conversation.
Shamel, it’s a real honour to interview you after all these years. You truly embody the essence of an enigma; we know your name, your companies, but not the story behind your success. Can you share more about your early years and what set you on this path?
I was born in Beirut while my mother was doing her graduate studies at the American University in Beirut. After that, we moved to Bahrain for a few years. My father founded and ran an architectural and contracting firm there. Eventually, we returned to Alexandria, where I spent most of my childhood. Later, I moved to Cairo to study construction engineering at AUC.
There seems to be a wave of great entrepreneurs whose origins are in Alexandria…
Apparently, yes. There’s a significant talent brain drain from Alexandria, as many Alexandrians move to Cairo for better opportunities.
What were your passions growing up? Were you always clear about your direction?
I’ve always been curious and passionate about learning. Through school and university, I was a curious student and did well academically. Growing up, I wanted to be an architect—my whole family are architects—my father, sister, and brother. When I applied to the AUC there wasn’t an architecture degree offered, and the closest was construction engineering. So I followed that path and pursued an engineering degree and I was actually among the first cohort to graduate, but I always felt there was more for me to pursue. I wanted to do something entrepreneurial, more business-oriented, which led me to pursue an MBA.
When I was doing my MBA, everything clicked. It was an eye-opening experience. I discovered things I didn’t even know existed. It was also overwhelming—you’re suddenly among people who are super smart and much quicker than you. It totally shifts your perspective.
Getting into Wharton is a major achievement. Was it always your goal?
Prior to getting accepted, I got a scholarship to go to London Business School, which is a great school, but my top choice was Wharton. It was a dream come true. I had always been a good student, but being at Wharton was a humbling and life-changing experience for me.
Before doing my MBA, I had explored several opportunities, but I wasn’t clear on what I wanted. My early experience involved other entrepreneurial ventures. Post-MBA, I focused more on finance and entrepreneurship; as that was what I studied. That mindset led me to pursue startups and eventually my first position after the MBA.
What was your first job post-MBA?
When I came back to Egypt from the United States, I had a startup idea and pitched it to Yassin Mansour. He was interested to invest, but also suggested I join their investment team—and that’s how it started.
What was that first startup about?
It began as a direct-to-consumer model, but before e-commerce really took off in 1999. Orders were made by phone and eventually, it evolved into a pharmacy chain called Care. That was the start of my post-MBA entrepreneurial journey.
Tell us about your journey that led you to Compass?
Around 2002–2003, I wanted international exposure, so I moved to Switzerland where I worked at Citigroup. A few years later, I co-founded an asset management company in Geneva called Paragon in 2005. That was probably my fourth business before returning to Egypt in 2007.
How did your experience working abroad differ from your experiences in Egypt?
The challenges you face abroad are very different from those in Egypt. It’s a much more structured environment. Once you identify the opportunity you want to pursue, everything else tends to fall into place. There aren’t as many hiccups or unexpected challenges as operating in our part of the world. The environment is more stable, that’s the key difference.
Did you find it more competitive abroad?
It’s not really about competitiveness. Egypt presents a different kind of challenge and also a different return profit. It’s about navigating through unpredictable challenges. That’s what makes doing business here more difficult: the unexpected challenges, not necessarily the competition.
So what brought you back to Egypt after Switzerland?
I enjoy living in Egypt more. After my graduate studies and spending two years in the U.S., I knew I wanted to come back. Even after five years in Switzerland, I was ready. I see opportunity in Egypt and I want my children to grow up here. I’ve always had a bias toward Egypt, so returning was an easy decision.
When I came back to Egypt my companies Paragon and Pharos were working on a transaction to acquire a listed company called Pachin at the time. Yet after we submitted a tender offer, the sellers opted out of selling, but we had developed a good working relationship together. I decided to come back and partner up with them to do private equity in Egypt which was what I really wanted to do. I continued at Pharos until 2010, when I left to start Compass.
What pushed you to branch out on your own?
I wanted to build a company with the flexibility to focus on the things I actually enjoy—starting small, focusing on idea generation and creating value.
So how did you make Compass different?
We made a conscious decision to keep Compass free from politics. At the beginning, no one had titles on their business cards. We kept the structure flat; everyone has a voice, and anyone can challenge any idea. Disagreements are welcome, as long as they are in service of growth and value creation.
Would you describe that as your leadership style?
I believe in listening to everyone. Even if someone disagrees with you, it’s important to hear them out. We weigh all the pros and cons. But once a decision is made, we move forward. There’s a saying: “Agree and commit; disagree and commit.” We strive to build consensus however, whether we all agree or not, we commit and move ahead as a team.
Would you say you’re a fast decision-maker?
Yes, but it’s important to understand that the word “decide” actually comes from the Latin root decidere meaning “cutting away all the other options.” There’s finality in that; it means you have to move forward and not look back.
Let’s talk about Compass. What was your initial vision for the company?
When we launched Compass in 2010, the market looked very different. The private equity space in Egypt was dominated by much larger players. We were small, but focused. Our goal was to be Egypt-centric in our investments. Our first transaction was in the pharmaceutical sector.
How did that deal come about?
It’s actually a funny story. Pharma was a hot asset class then as it is now, and everyone wanted in. So when this opportunity came to us, it raised some eyebrows. Why us? Why wasn’t anyone else looking at it? The seller was the Shamel Bank of Bahrain, a coincidence that seems like a scam and it all felt a bit odd. But we looked into it diligently, studied it closely and decided to move forward.
Was raising money a challenge?
Very much. Investors were hesitant, wondering why a startup like us was looking at this deal. Plus, it was a turnaround deal, which made it even tougher. But we closed the transaction on January 19th, 2011.
That was just days before the Egyptian revolution. Was it the last merger & acquisition before everything shut down?
Yes, it was the last one before the market closed. And then the January 25th revolution hit. So here we were at Compass, a startup, investing in a struggling pharmaceutical company in a highly regulated sector… and suddenly, the whole country was in turmoil.
That sounds incredibly intense…
It was. Normally, we build a blueprint for what to do prior to making the investment. We saw healthcare and pharmaceuticals as strategic sectors that would continue to matter, regardless of the political situation. While others were downsizing, we doubled down and hired great talent and pushed our expansion plans at more competitive prices because no one else was investing then.
So the crisis actually created opportunity for you?
Exactly! We focused, stayed disciplined, and grew the business significantly. We gained market share and eventually took the company public in 2019.
Did that success lead you to pursue more investments in pharma?
Not in the traditional sense. With Rameda, instead of just developing and registering our own products, we took a different approach—we started acquiring molecules already on the market. To date, we’ve completed more than 40 molecule acquisitions in Egypt, which has allowed us to scale much faster.
The most recent acquisition we made a few months ago was a diabetes medication. It was the largest acquisition we’ve done so far.
What other transactions did compass work on after Rameda?
After Compass started growing, we expanded and moved into different sectors. We made several transactions in financial services, such as acquiring a stake in Beltone in 2012 which we sold in 2016. We also invested in CI Capital when CIB was selling it in 2016, and held a stake there until it went public.
I know you’ve also had some notable real estate investments. Can you tell us about those?
The most significant real estate investment we have is Bonyan, which we acquired in 2018 from a private equity firm. At that time, they had a single asset, Designopolis, which I always admired. We had the opportunity to acquire it, I jumped on it, and since then, we’ve grown Bonyan to include 10 assets including eight iconic office buildings in New Cairo.
That’s quite a portfolio, could you tell us a bit about Bonyan’s business model?
Absolutely. It’s a very interesting model, mainly used in developed markets. Unlike traditional developers who buy land, build, and sell units, Bonyan’s model is to acquire existing assets, own them, and lease them out. This approach is how most people globally invest in real estate, rather than buying individual units. It’s a more structured and less speculative model.
Does this model work well in Egypt, considering the current economic challenges?
Yes, it works very well in Egypt. The benefit of owning assets is that, real estate is about choosing the right assets and fundamentally it is an inflation hedge. In fact, the value of the assets increases even more than inflation, and you benefit from that appreciation. Unlike developers who sell units at a certain fixed price over time but face rising costs when they come to construct, especially during times where there is high inflation. In our model, on the contrary, inflation helps us preserve margins and benefit from the rise in asset value.
So, the plan isn’t to sell these investments eventually?
No, we generally hold on to the investments. We make money through the appreciation of the assets and from rental income, along with continuous acquisitions. We only sell if we believe we need to reposition the portfolio, but that’s not our main focus.
Bonyan is now going public—what led to this decision?
Ultimately, the goal has always been to list the businesses we invest in and create a liquidity event. This allows us to democratise the asset, enabling more people to invest. This isn’t the first time we’ve done this; in fact, this is the fourth time. Our goal has always been to take businesses public. Bonyan, in particular, is perfectly suited for this market, especially because Egyptians have a strong interest in real estate, and this model offers a more efficient way to invest in that asset class.
Are there other companies in Egypt using this model?
Currently, no one but us is using this model for office spaces at scale. Some families own buildings and individuals invest in single units, but at our scale in this format, we are unique. So this gives us an interesting position in the market.
Once Bonyan is publicly listed, what are your plans for growth?
We have a first-mover advantage, and this model isn’t easily replicable unless you have the scale to do it. After going public, our goal is to continue acquiring buildings and growing the company. We see huge opportunities in commercial real estate and believe the business has a lot of room to grow. It’s a model with a long runway.
Going public will allow us to grow much faster and take advantage of existing opportunities.
Let’s talk about the real estate market in Egypt. As you mentioned, it’s the most thriving sector in Egypt, and everyone’s keen on investing in it. How do you see this sector evolving, and what advice would you give to those who want to invest in real estate?
We’re very numbers driven. When we looked at real estate as an asset class, we compared it to other assets like bonds, equities, and gold. In Egypt, real estate has always outperformed other asset classes and remains the top performer over the medium and long term. However, when you delve deeper into real estate, you realise it’s not a uniform across all its sectors. It’s divided by geography and type—residential, commercial, retail, and so on. You have to look at where the value lies. On the commercial side, we continue to see more value than in residential. There’s a supply-demand gap and not enough availability of quality office space, especially of the caliber multinational tenants are looking for. In Egypt, a lot of real estate is sold in strata, meaning buildings are divided and sold as small units. However, when multinationals want to rent, they don’t want small offices—they want the whole building or an entire floor. Yet there just isn’t enough of that type of offering.
As a successful serial entrepreneur who’s ventured into multiple sectors, how have you overcome the challenges you must have faced?
You need to really dive into opportunities, study them well, understand them, and ask a lot of questions. That’s how you figure out what needs to be done and how to extract value. More importantly, there’s always an opportunity in chaos. You have to stay optimistic and identify what opportunities thrive in that kind of environment.
The idea is to invest in businesses that have tailwinds—businesses that grow even when the environment isn’t ideal. For example, in an inflationary market, owning real estate works in your favour. That’s a business you want to be in. Pharma is another sector that continues to grow, even in tough conditions. When it comes to non-banking financial services, you have a huge unbanked population in Egypt, which means a significant opportunity. The goal is to find sectors that benefit from the country’s dynamics and, ideally, those with limited competition. If you look hard enough, you’ll find businesses that have decent margins and aren’t overly competitive.
What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs and the next generation—especially now, when raising investment is filled with uncertainty?
I’d tell them to be entrepreneurs. I’d advise them to go for it. But there are certain criteria you need to consider when you’re thinking of investing. You need to be passionate about what you’re doing. You also need to look at businesses that have natural tailwinds—ideally, ones that are asset-backed. And you don’t have to be doing something revolutionary to succeed. You can focus on a traditional brick-and-mortar business and simply do it better than the next guy. That’s what I’d say to the younger generation. Because there’s this growing mindset that everything has to break the mold, be tech-driven, or be completely out of the box.
People have forgotten all the other types of businesses out there. And honestly, you’d be surprised—many of the most successful businesses in Egypt are in very basic industries. You don’t need to be the guy who comes up with the next Uber.
The most important advice I’d give is: be humble and keep your head down. A lot of entrepreneurs today are embracing this idea that failure is acceptable—that it’s just part of the journey. But that’s not necessarily true. You do not have to fail to succeed. That whole narrative—”fail fast, fail often”—can be a convenient excuse to not do your homework. Sure, it can feel liberating to believe failure is part of growth, but it also gives you an excuse to be complacent. Don’t get me wrong, it’s okay to fail. But there’s a big difference between failing and going in expecting failure as part of the process. That’s a completely different mindset.
You’ve built an incredibly successful business, how does that affect your work-life balance?
I manage it quite well. I enjoy walking and it’s a part of my daily routine. I walk to work and walk back home, and I also wake up early to walk my dog.
Are you part of the 5 a.m. club?
I wish! I usually wake up around 6:30 am, walk my dog at seven, and then I’m at the gym from eight until nine. After that, I head to the office, which is about a 12 to 15-minute walk.
I usually leave the office around 6 pm, so I am home at a decent time. After work, I enjoy spending time with my family. I also work remotely when needed, and I’m usually still reachable after hours, as I try not to completely shut off.
Let’s shift to the future; where do you see yourself in the next 10, 20, or even 30 years?
Honestly, I have no idea—and that’s exactly what I’m trying to figure out. I’m actually starting a program at the Harvard Business School this month that I hope will help me answer that.
The program is designed for entrepreneurs with around 30-years work experience that have founded businesses. It’s three weeks on campus, followed by two more modules spread out over the next two years. I’m excited to be a student again, as the last time I was in a classroom was back in 1997. I’m really looking forward to stepping back, gaining fresh perspective, and learning as much as I can.
With that we concluded the fascinating interview, as we eagerly await Shamel Aboul Fadl’s exciting next chapter.
Enigma Questionnaire
What five words best describe you?
Curious to learn, decisive, creative, passionate—and perseverant.
As an animal lover, if you were an animal, what would you be and why?
A dog. They’re loyal, pleasant, easy to be around, protective when they need to be, and have a good balance of traits I relate to.
Describe a perfect day…
Waking up early, walking the dog on a sunny day, doing sports for an hour, then coming to work and being challenged mentally.
What keeps you up at night?
Hubris. Once you’ve had some success, the danger is believing too much in yourself and tuning others out. That kind of overconfidence can be your downfall. I try to stay grounded and keep questioning myself.
Who are your role models in business?
Warren Buffett. Despite his incredible success, he stayed humble. He still questions his decisions, listens to others, and has remained remarkably consistent over the decades.
If there were a book written about your life, what would the title be?
Just Do It.
What qualities do you admire most in people?
Humility, self-motivation, and trustworthiness.
And the ones you least enjoy?
People who are conceited, condescending, or double-faced.
What makes you laugh?
Observational comedy—Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm. I also really enjoy stand-up.
What makes you feel most alive?
Spending time with the people I love.
The best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
“The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.”
What helps you stay optimistic?
Not watching the news!
Photography: Khaled Fadda