By Dazed MENA
What do a beach club on Egypt’s North Coast, a restaurant inside a historic Cairo cinema and a boutique hotel in a 19th-century building have in common? Quite a lot, if you ask gnk group.
Founded in 2016 by Ahmed El Ganzoury and Kareem Nabil, the Egyptian group has spent the past decade building a collection of destinations and experiences spanning hospitality, dining, music, entertainment and culture. What began with a team of eight has grown into a multidisciplinary operation of around 700 people, with projects stretching from the Mediterranean to Downtown Cairo and the Red Sea.
For many, the most familiar introduction to gnk is KIKI’s Beach, one of the group’s North Coast destinations. Alongside concepts including Gar Al Amar, Stanley and At/9 in Marassi, it reflects gnk’s approach to hospitality as something that extends beyond what’s on the menu. The setting, music, people and atmosphere are all part of the experience.
gnk has also been experimenting with what happens when established hospitality concepts meet. At Hacienda Heneish, KIKI’s Chicha brings together the North Coast venue’s familiar atmosphere with the Latin American cooking of El Gouna’s Chicha Latin Kitchen, introducing a different dining experience to the Mediterranean.
Beyond restaurants and beach clubs, the group’s interests extend into music and cultural programming. ByGanz, the events company founded by El Ganzoury at twenty, has developed large-scale celebrations and destination experiences, while Human Figures has brought international music concepts such as No Art to Egypt’s North Coast.
In Downtown Cairo, that approach takes a different form. Studio Samara occupies the historic Cinema Radio building, bringing food, music and design into a space already associated with Egypt’s entertainment history. Rather than creating another destination from scratch, gnk is working within a building that already has a story of its own.
The group’s presence in hotels and residences dates back to 2019 with the establishment of Mazeej White Residence. Since then, the brand has expanded into Downtown Cairo with Mazeej Balad, housed inside the historic La Viennoise building. Developed in partnership with Ismaelia Group and designed by architect Malak Orfy, the boutique hotel is part of a wider collection of properties across Egypt. The portfolio also includes upcoming projects such as Mazeej Giza Residence, Mazeej Soma Hotel & Residences and Crystal by Mazeej at Hacienda Heneish.
Across these ventures, gnk is increasingly moving between experiences that last a few hours and spaces that become part of people’s everyday routines. A music festival, a restaurant, a hotel and a beach club might seem like entirely different businesses, but each offers its own answer to the question of where people choose to spend their time.
For El Ganzoury and Nabil, the next stage is about bringing those different worlds closer together, building on the group’s experience in entertainment while exploring what hospitality can look like across Egypt’s cities, coastlines and cultural spaces.