Inside MISR SIM: why one founder is building an Egypt-first eSIM startup

MISR SIM is an Egypt-focused travel eSIM company selling data plans to visitors travelling to Egypt, in a market already served by large international platforms. Cairo Stream spoke to its founder, Alfrid Akhunov, about why he started the company, what he thinks is still difficult about getting connected on arrival, and how a small startup positions itself against global competitors. Background on the market the company entered is in our earlier report on Egypt's travel eSIM market.

The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Statements about the company and its plans are the founder's own; Cairo Stream has not independently verified them and does not review or recommend commercial eSIM products.

What made you decide to create MISR SIM in the first place?

The idea started with a relatively simple question: why should staying connected be one of the things a traveller has to worry about when arriving in Egypt?

When someone arrives in a new country, they immediately need connectivity. They need maps, transportation, messaging, hotel information, translation and many other services. But traditionally, getting connected can mean finding a SIM shop, waiting in line, dealing with registration requirements or relying on expensive roaming.

eSIM technology changes that because the traveller can arrange connectivity before leaving home. I saw an opportunity to build something specifically around that experience for people coming to Egypt.

The idea behind MISR SIM is therefore bigger than simply selling data. We want to make connectivity one less thing for travellers to think about.

There are already global eSIM companies offering Egypt plans. Why did you believe Egypt needed an Egypt-focused company?

That was actually one of the reasons I thought there was an opportunity.

Global eSIM companies have done a lot to make the technology accessible, but their business model is naturally broad. They have to serve customers travelling to hundreds of countries. We decided to do the opposite.

Instead of asking how we can sell an eSIM everywhere, we asked how we could build a better experience specifically for someone travelling to Egypt. That means focusing on Egypt-related connectivity, creating Egypt-specific travel information, understanding what travellers need before they arrive and making the purchasing and activation experience as simple as possible.

Our view is that specialization can be an advantage. If someone is travelling to Egypt, we want them to feel that MISR SIM was built with their particular trip in mind.

How did your previous telecommunications experience influence the idea?

Telecommunications was an important part of my professional background, so I was already familiar with the industry and with the importance of connectivity to people's everyday lives.

That experience also gave me a realistic understanding of the difference between the technology itself and the customer experience built around it. Telecom can be technically complicated, but customers don't want complicated telecom products. They want to know one simple thing: will I be connected when I need it?

That perspective influenced MISR SIM. We are trying to hide as much of the technical complexity as possible from the traveller and make the experience straightforward.

What do you think is still unnecessarily complicated about getting connected when someone arrives in Egypt?

The biggest problem is often the timing. A traveller arrives after a long flight and immediately needs internet access. They may need to contact their hotel, order transportation, use maps or communicate with family. Having to search for a SIM card at that exact moment isn't an ideal experience.

There are also questions travellers may have about which network to use, what package to buy, how much data they need and how to install the SIM.

eSIM technology can move much of that process to before the trip. The traveller can purchase the service while still at home, install the eSIM using Wi-Fi and arrive in Egypt already prepared to connect. That is the experience we are trying to build around.

What surprised you most about actually building an eSIM business compared with simply having the idea?

The biggest surprise was how many different parts have to work together. From the outside, an eSIM business can look simple: a customer chooses a plan, pays and receives an eSIM.

Behind that are many different systems and processes. There is eSIM provisioning, network connectivity, payments, the website, customer support, compatibility, installation instructions, security and the overall customer journey. Then there is the business side: marketing, content, search visibility, partnerships and building trust in a new brand.

The technology is only one part of the company. One of the biggest lessons for me has been that building a good digital product means thinking about the entire customer journey, not just the technology behind it.

MISR SIM is deliberately focused on Egypt rather than hundreds of destinations. Why do you think specialization can be an advantage?

Because specialization allows us to go deeper. If you focus on hundreds of destinations, it becomes difficult to build a truly local experience for each one.

Our goal is to understand Egypt extremely well. That includes connectivity, travel patterns, airports, tourist destinations, common questions from visitors and the problems travellers encounter when they arrive.

We are also building travel content around Egypt because we don't want MISR SIM to be just another checkout page. We want to become a useful resource for people planning a trip to Egypt. The idea is simple: if Egypt is the destination, we want to be very good at Egypt.

How can a small Egypt-focused startup compete with large international eSIM platforms?

We can't compete with global companies simply by trying to become a smaller version of them. They have scale, brand recognition and large marketing budgets. Our strategy has to be different.

We need to compete through specialization, customer experience, local relevance and trust. If a traveller searches for information about connectivity in Egypt, we want to provide useful information rather than simply push a product. If a customer has a question about travelling to Egypt, we want to understand the context behind that question. And if someone chooses MISR SIM, we want the experience to be simple from purchase through installation and use.

A smaller company can sometimes move faster and stay closer to a specific customer problem. That's the advantage we are trying to build.

How do you see Egypt's telecom market evolving as eSIM adoption grows?

I think eSIM will gradually become a normal part of the mobile experience. Egypt officially launched eSIM technology in December 2024 after the NTRA completed the necessary technical testing with the country's mobile operators. That creates the foundation for more digital connectivity services.

For travellers, the technology is particularly interesting because it removes the need for a physical SIM card and allows connectivity to be arranged before arrival. But I think the bigger change is cultural. As consumers become more comfortable with digital SIMs, they will increasingly expect telecom services to work like other digital products: choose online, pay online, activate digitally and manage the service from their device.

That shift creates opportunities not only for operators, but also for companies building services around the mobile experience.

Cairo Stream note: the regulator authorised eSIM services in Egypt in December 2024, but registration rules still apply to local subscriptions, and availability depends on the operator, plan type and handset. The constraints are set out in our background piece on eSIM support in Egypt and in our guide to getting connected in Egypt.

Is MISR SIM primarily a telecom company, a travel-tech company, or something in between?

I would describe it as a travel-tech company built around connectivity. The underlying service is telecommunications, but the customer problem we're solving is a travel problem.

A traveller doesn't wake up thinking, “I need an eSIM.” They think, “I am going to Egypt and I need internet when I arrive.” That difference matters. Connectivity is the product, but the travel experience is the context.

That's why we are also developing Egypt travel guides and other resources. We want to understand the traveller's journey rather than only the moment when they purchase an eSIM.

What has been the biggest challenge you've faced building MISR SIM so far?

Building a startup largely from the ground up means there are always more things to solve than resources to solve them with. The challenge is not necessarily one single technical problem. It's deciding what deserves attention first.

You have to think about the product, technology, payments, customer support, marketing, SEO, partnerships and operations, while at the same time making sure the basic customer experience remains reliable.

Another challenge is building trust. People are being asked to buy a digital connectivity product from a company they may have never heard of before. That means the website, payment experience, support, content and communication all have to make the customer feel comfortable. For a small startup, every customer interaction matters.

What do you want MISR SIM to become over the next three to five years?

The long-term vision is bigger than simply selling Egypt data plans. I want MISR SIM to become a recognizable Egypt travel-connectivity brand.

Connectivity will remain at the centre, but there are many services and information layers that can be built around the traveller's journey. That could include better travel resources, partnerships, digital services and potentially new products that make visiting Egypt easier.

But I don't want to grow simply for the sake of becoming bigger. The first priority is to build something that genuinely works for travellers and earns their trust. If we can establish that foundation in Egypt, then we can decide what the next stage should look like.

If you could go back to the day you decided to start MISR SIM, what would you tell yourself?

I would tell myself that the idea is probably the easy part. The real work starts afterward. There will always be another technical problem, another business decision, another marketing experiment and another thing that needs improvement.

You also have to accept that not everything will work the first time. You have to test, learn and keep improving.

I would also remind myself not to try to build everything at once. A startup has limited resources, especially at the beginning. The most important thing is to identify the problem you are solving and keep coming back to it. For MISR SIM, that problem is simple: someone is travelling to Egypt and wants to be connected without unnecessary hassle. If we keep solving that problem better, we are moving in the right direction.

Building a startup around one destination

MISR SIM is still a young company operating in an increasingly competitive global eSIM market. Its approach is different from that of broad international eSIM platforms: rather than building a catalogue of destinations, it is concentrating on one market and attempting to build a complete experience around it.

That strategy will ultimately be tested by customers. For now, the company represents another stage in Egypt's growing digital connectivity ecosystem — one that combines telecommunications technology with the country's expanding travel and tourism economy.

For Akhunov, the starting point remains straightforward: make it easier for someone travelling to Egypt to get connected. “If Egypt is the destination, we want to be very good at Egypt.”