Billionaire Naguib Sawiris scales back Moniify, ambitious ‘TikTok generation' aimed venture — here's why
Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris' Moniify, described as 'CNBC for the TikTok generation' and was launched with great pomp in Dubai late last year, is scaling back operations just months later, Bloomberg reported.
The report noted that Moniify was meant to be a culmination of Sawaris' (worth $8.4 billion), five decades in business and a second shot in the media business.
A new media platform, billed as 'CNBC for the TikTok generation', Moniify aimed to share with the ambitious youth the 'secrets' to building wealth — drawing from Sawaris' years of experience building his own empire.
The venture was launched in November 2024, and began hiring staff from New York to the Middle East at good packages. The report noted that initial consensus was that the company would make losses, but had 'reassurance of deep pockets' from its owner.
Speaking at the launch, 70-year-old Sawaris said, 'At my age, you start thinking 'I need to do something for my legacy, something to give back to society'. So with all the money we spent on Moniify, it gets booked under this section.'
'Young people were always asking me how they could also become rich. So I thought, ok, why not provide a tool, a platform that gives everything in a package to help these young people achieve their dreams. I always like to give back to society and better to give to the young, to the millennials. That was the motive,' he said in a video for Moniify.
According to the Bloomberg report citing sources, Sawaris appeared to have a 'change of heart', starting with slashes in budget and promotion, followed by layoffs in January 2025, then CEO Micheal Peters (formerly with Euronews) left, and was replaced with Sawaris' daughter Lana. Staff received no explaination, it added.
Omar Al-Ghazzi, associate media and communications professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science told the publication that a huge barrier is how to attract the young while striking a 'balance between innovation and cringe'.
Spokespeople for Sawaris did not repond to queries, while Peters declined to comment, the report added.
The sources said Sawaris was unprepared for the cash burn — estimated to be tens of millions of dollars, and the fact that there was no clear path to profits. They added that the mogul was in Dubai early in 2025 and sought help for business planning and monetisation from journalists at an internal meeting — indicating that he was out of the loop.
Weeks after launch the venture was scaled back and layoffs began — especially hitting those who relocated to the UAE and now had strict visa requirements to meet.
Sawaris' daughter Lana took over after Peters departure. She has prior experience as a digital communications manager for Christian Louboutin and Art Director of Kith. At present, Moniify is only generating short media format and written content focused on personal finance. In a recent video she said: 'Finance, business, entrepreneurship — it should all be entertaining too.'
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
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