SOKNA: This Egyptian Startup Goes Above and Beyond with its Comprehensive Funerary Services

Saying goodbye to a loved one is a difficult experience for anyone to undergo, and more often than not, is made more burdensome by preparing funeral arrangements. SOKNA, a Cairo-based startup, takes care of everything for families dealing with loss.

“A friend of mine’s dad passed away and he called me for help. I went to help him, and it was one of the most traumatizing experiences of my life,” founder, Ahmed Gaballah, told StartupScene. “Everything was chaotic and hectic for everyone, it was a terrible experience. We couldn’t even make it to the funeral on time. After that I avoided anything that had to do with death for 10 years,” he continued. After moving to San Francisco to work with tech giants like Google and Facebook, Gaballah was once again made to confront death after his close friend passed away. “But this time the funeral was calm, tranquil, and respectful,” he said. 

Gaballah came back to Egypt in 2018, and with the help of his work colleague from Google, Hossam Basyoni, was determined to grant Egyptian families the same peace of mind. “How can we empower people to honour their loved ones when they pass away? Through an organised funeral service that is calm and peaceful. We want to make grievers feel like we are their family, and try to prevent them from any additional suffering,” Gaballah told us. 

The service takes care of any and all technicalities including extracting burial permits, to preparing the body of the deceased, transportation of it, coordinating the event, providing pallbearers, and even coordination throughout the funeral service, with the bigger goal of easing as much anxiety from the grieving period as possible. 

SOKNA offers free consultations, and operates in all cities of Egypt. With a team of experienced morticians with a minimum of 15 years under their belts, the service has been able to successfully ease the minds of mourners, so they can take this time to reflect and remember their loved ones. 

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