Keller Williams Expands to Egypt

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 5, 2026--

Keller Williams Realty, LLC, the world's largest real estate franchise by agent count, is expanding across Africa. As momentum continues, KW has awarded a new master franchise in Egypt.

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"We’re proud to welcome Egypt into our KW family as we continue to expand our culture of growth and opportunity around the world,” said William E. Soteroff, president of Keller Williams Worldwide (KWW), the international division of KW.

As of December 31, 2025, KWW, which operates outside of the U.S. and Canada, sold over 84,500 units, up 2.7 percent year-over-year (YOY), representing $20.9 billion in sales volume, up 21.4 percent YOY.

KW awarded its master franchise in Egypt to a strategic partnership between RED, co-founded by Khalid Bahig and Mohamed Banany, and ANCHOR Development & Management, founded by Ahmed Ghoneim.

Bahig, who will serve as chairman and CEO of KW® Egypt, previously held the role of CEO of Coldwell Banker Egypt, where he helped drive a major shift in the Egyptian real estate brokerage market by introducing structured sales frameworks, disciplined processes, and professional buyer handling approaches, setting foundations that many companies later adopted.

Bahig is currently the co-founder and chairman of RED, one of Egypt’s leading real estate marketplaces serving buyers, developers, and sellers.

“Our vision is to redefine the real estate experience in Egypt through professionalism, innovation, and trust, empowering agents to grow businesses worth owning and helping clients make property decisions with confidence and transparency, supported by KW’s end-to-end technology ecosystem,” said Bahig.

Banany will serve as a board member of KW® Egypt. A former VP of Marketing and Business Development of Coldwell Banker Egypt, he is also the co-founder and managing director of RED, where he has played a pivotal role in shaping one of Egypt’s most influential real estate platforms.

“We see this as a transformational step for the Egyptian real estate market,” said Banany. “By combining RED’s local market expertise with KW’s world-class models, systems, and technology, we are committed to enhancing agent performance, raising service quality, and establishing a more transparent and trusted marketplace for clients and developers alike.”

As the regional operating principal and a board member of KW® Egypt, Ghoneim will lead in collaboration with Bahig and Banany, brokerage professionals known for their deep market expertise, global exposure, and a shared commitment to building a culture of professionalism and education.

A seasoned entrepreneur, Ghoneim has led numerous large-scale residential developments in Egypt. His 20-plus-year career spans senior roles at top-tier global and regional real estate brands. He is also the founder of ANCHOR Development & Management, an integrated real estate development, sales, and marketing firm.

"Our objective is clear: we aim to establish KW as one of the top real estate companies in Egypt,” said Ghoneim. “We're not just building a business, we're creating the ultimate destination for real estate professionals in Egypt."

“We believe the Egyptian real estate market will remarkably evolve with KW, by being the hub of agents, company leaders, and investors for development and training that drives results,” said Ghoneim.

In Q1 ’26, RED will become the first franchise office in Egypt, serving as the operational launchpad for KW’s expansion in the country and a central hub for agent training, growth, and technology adoption.

Egypt marks the second KW master franchise in Africa. The brand's other region includes South Africa.

“Egypt represents one of the most dynamic and high-growth real estate markets in the region, and with this exceptional leadership partnership, we look forward to KW Egypt becoming the standard-bearer for agent success, training, and culture in this important market,” said Soteroff.

KWW is exploring further expansion opportunities across Africa, Central and South America, Central and Eastern Europe, and throughout Asia.

Core criteria for new licensees start with having a qualified leadership team grounded in the Keller Williams culture; the company also strives for government, banking, and judicial system stability and a higher maturity level for the real estate market.

Outside of the U.S. and Canada, KWW’s regions include Albania; Argentina; Aruba; Bahamas; Belize; Bermuda; Bolivia; Bonaire; Bulgaria; Cayman Islands; Colombia; Costa Rica; Curaçao; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Delhi NCR, India; Dominican Republic; Dubai, UAE; Egypt; El Salvador; France; Germany; Greece; Guatemala; Guyana; Honduras; Hungary; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Jamaica; Japan; Luxembourg; Malaysia; Mexico; Monaco; Mongolia; Nicaragua; North Macedonia; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Puerto Rico; Qatar; Romania; São Paulo, Brazil; Saudi Arabia; Scotland; Serbia; Singapore; Sint Maarten; Slovenia; Southern Africa; Spain; Suriname; Thailand; Turkiye; Turks and Caicos; United Kingdom; Uruguay; Uzbekistan; and Vietnam.

About Keller Williams

Austin, Texas-based Keller Williams Realty, LLC is the world’s largest real estate franchise by agent count with a global network of offices and affiliated agents. The franchise is No. 1 in units and sales volume in the U.S.

Since 1983, the company has cultivated an agent-centric, technology-driven, and education-based culture that rewards affiliated agents. For more information, visit kwri.kw.com.

Ahmed Ghoneim will serve as the regional operating principal and a board member of KW® Egypt.

Mohamed Banany will serve as a board member of KW® Egypt.

Khalid Bahig will serve as chairman and CEO of KW® Egypt.

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV lifted a wooden cross and held it aloft from his waist at the start of the 14 stations of the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum on his first Good Friday as pontiff, marking the first time in decades that a pope has set out to carry the cross to every station.

“I think it will be an important sign because of what the pope represents, a spiritual leader in the world today, and for this voice, that everyone wants to hear, that says Christ still suffers,” Leo told reporters this week outside of the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo. “I carry all of this suffering in my prayer.”

Inside the Colosseum, Leo began the procession flanked by two young people holding torches, and followed by clergy.

At the first station, marking the moment Jesus was condemned to death, the meditation prepared especially for Leo's first Good Friday underlined that those with authority will have to answer to God for how they exercise their power.

"The power to judge; the power to start or end a war; the power to instill violence or peace; the power to fuel the desire for revenge, or for reconciliation,'' read the meditation written by Rev. Francesco Patton, who was custodian of the Holy Land 2016-25, charged, among other things, with looking after sacred sites.

Thousands gathered outside the pagan monument, where the procession continued, following the stations as they were recited over loud speakers.

They included Sister Pelenatita Kieoma Finau from Samoa and a member of the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary.

"We have been part of our parish stations of the cross, but this is so exciting. It is very meaningful to have the experience of being with the people of Rome on this special occasion,'' she said.

John Paul II carried the cross for the entire procession from his first Good Friday as pontiff in 1979 until his hip surgery in 1995, when he carried it just part of the way, according to AP reports at the time.

For the first two years of his papacy, Benedict XVI carried the cross for the first station inside the Colosseum, then followed other bearers in the procession that ends on a platform on the Palatine Hill.

Pope Francis never carried the cross, but participated in the procession until his health worsened. He died after a long illness last year on Easter Monday, which fell on April 21.

Pope John Paul II was just 58 when he became pope, and was known as a hiker and outdoorsman. His two successors were in their late 70s when they began their papacies, and Francis was missing part of a lung due to a pulmonary infection as a young man.

The Way of the Cross commemorates the final hours of Jesus’ life, from his death sentence to taking up the cross to his crucifixion, death and burial. The procession ends outside the Colosseum atop the Palatine Hill.

“The Way of the Cross is not intended for those who lead a pristinely pious or abstractly recollected life,” Patton wrote in his introduction. “Instead, it is the exercise of one who knows that faith, hope and charity must be incarnated in the real world.”

At 70, Leo is physically fit and an avid tennis player and swimmer. Before becoming pope, Leo would work out regularly at a gym near the Vatican, with a plan befitting a man in his early 50s, according to his former trainer.

On Holy Saturday, the pontiff will preside over a late night Easter vigil, during which he will baptize new Catholics, and lead Roman Catholics into Christianity’s most joyous celebration marking Christ’s resurrection.

On Easter Sunday, the pope will celebrate an open-air Mass in St. Peter’s Square before delivering his Easter message and offer the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” blessing to the city of Rome and the world.

——

Barry reported from Milan.

Pope Leo XIV carries a lightweight, 1.5-meter (5-foot) wooden cross during the Via Crucis, the torchlit Good Friday Stations of the Cross procession at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026, which symbolically retraces Jesus Christ's steps to his crucifixion on Calvary in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Faithful attend the Via Crucis, the torchlit Good Friday Stations of the Cross procession led by Pope Leo XIV at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026, which symbolically retraces Jesus Christ's steps to his crucifixion on Calvary in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo XIV carries a lightweight, 1.5-meter (5-foot) wooden cross during the Via Crucis, the torchlit Good Friday Stations of the Cross procession at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026, which symbolically retraces Jesus Christ's steps to his crucifixion on Calvary in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV carries a lightweight, 1.5-meter (5-foot) wooden cross during the Via Crucis, the torchlit Good Friday Stations of the Cross procession at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026, which symbolically retraces Jesus Christ's steps to his crucifixion on Calvary in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV carries a lightweight, 1.5-meter (5-foot) wooden cross during the Via Crucis, the torchlit Good Friday Stations of the Cross procession at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026, which symbolically retraces Jesus Christ's steps to his crucifixion on Calvary in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV attends the Celebration of the Passion of the Lord in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Catholic Good Friday, Friday, April 3, 2026 (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV attends the Celebration of the Passion of the Lord in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Catholic Good Friday, Friday, April 3, 2026 (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)