Ibrahim Nofal, founder of Sportanza and Egypt Padel Tour: Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. Speaking to us this week is Ibrahim Nofal (LinkedIn), founder of Sportanza and Egypt Padel Tour.

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My name is Ibrahim Nofal. I graduated in 2010 with a degree in electronics and communication engineering. I was always interested in business and how companies operate, so after college I pursued an MBA to build my business skills.

I began my career in IT, business development, and account management before moving into supply chain management at P&G, where I managed large-scale operations across 14 countries for five years. Later, I joined Decathlon during its entry into Egypt. Over nearly two years, I helped build their operations before leaving in November 2019 to pursue new opportunities.

During this time, I began volunteering in international competitions and working with sports federations, using my business skills to enhance event organization and management. Instead of coaching or starting a sports academy, I focused on improving Egypt’s sports ecosystem by elevating competitions — crucial to any athlete’s journey. Despite Egypt’s strong sporting culture and infrastructure, the system was disorganized, and my efforts aimed to bridge that gap.

In 2014, I began the drive to move sports championships to premium venues, elevating the experience with better facilities, branding, and professionalism. I started organizing regional and world championships in iconic Egyptian locations rather than traditional venues like Cairo International Stadium, which I found impractical and outdated. Leveraging my experience and contacts in sports like fencing, squash, and taekwondo, I helped modernize and professionalize competitions across Egypt, creating a more appealing ecosystem for athletes, sponsors, and fans.

This shift also marked my move into entrepreneurship. I co-founded a company focused on websites and apps before launching my own sports management company — Sportanza — in 2016. Through Sportanza I worked with federations to organize events, in addition to launching a sports website — dubbed Sports of Egypt — that aggregated official results, player statistics, rankings, and event information. It became the first platform in Egypt to digitize sports registration and payments, handling over 200 events and compiling data on 12k players. The platform also served as an online ticketing solution for event organizers and introduced innovations like online registration portals.

I eventually pivoted the platform into a commercial product, offering ticketing and results services for private events. This shift allowed me to move away from official federations and focus on commercial sports ventures, organizing events like the Gouna Squash tournament and Egypt’s CrossFit Games. In 2018, I achieved a milestone by securing and organizing the World Biathle/Triathle Championships in Sahl Hasheesh, leading the entire process from bidding to execution. This was a turning point in my events business, eventually forcing me to leave my corporate job.

Another longtime project of mine has been making padel a leading sport in Egypt. After pitching the idea to the authorities in 2018, we launched the Egypt Padel Tour in 2021, which saw us host 13 championships across Cairo, Alexandria, and the North Coast. Despite limited resources, the tour helped expand the sport’s player base to 2k in its first year. Today, the sport has exploded, with over 300k players, 1k courts, and at least 12 professional athletes making a living from padel.

My mornings usually start early, a habit from my days as a professional athlete. If the weather’s good I enjoy cycling or hitting the gym before starting my workday. I prefer working from cafes, where I can focus on thinking up new events, making calls, and exploring global sports trends and technologies. The Gulf region is creating significant buzz in the sports scene, so I stay updated on and engage in discussions about opportunities there. This week I’ve also had calls with regional contacts to discuss collaboration with African countries where Egypt plays a leadership role in sports. And of course, I always fit reading EnterpriseAM in during the time I schedule for personal development and reading.

I haven't had a normal workday since COVID, but before that, my routine included office work, meetings, and plenty of sports. I’d play ping pong after lunch, schedule squash sessions, and organize events like running clubs, marathons, and football tournaments — all outside my regular responsibilities. I’d usually finish by 5 or 6pm to focus on personal projects or more sports activities.

The one constant in my day is that I have to do something related to sports. Everybody who knows me knows that I practice what I preach.

My favorite way of relaxing and switching off is traveling — and because of sports, I've been able to go a lot of places. I also like to learn from other people's experiences, whether from podcasts or autobiographies. I particularly like to hear about success stories, which EnterpriseAM is useful for — I learn about a lot of stories and people through its coverage.

I believe I can make a difference through sports, and that belief is my driving force. It’s what keeps me motivated and focused on my goals. Personally, I want to inspire more people to adopt active, healthy lifestyles. Professionally, I have a big dream to revolutionize sports in Egypt and the region. My ultimate goal is to enhance the lives of everyone involved in sports in Egypt — whether through organizing impactful events or developing tools that both professional and amateur athletes can rely on in their daily routines.

Believe it or not, the best advice I've ever received is “take it easy.” When I was younger and in my twenties, I was all over the place — there was a time when I was a partner in four companies. Now when I see young people struggling, I tell them: slow down, regroup, write down your ideas, and sometimes, pivot. Sometimes you need to stop and take two steps back to find a way around the wall.

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