What Rawi Publishing does

Rawi Publishing is a Cairo-based, founder-owned bilingual publishing and cultural curation platform focused exclusively on Egyptian history, heritage, and art. Founded in 2010 by Yasmine El Dorghamy, the company has produced twelve annual bilingual (English/Arabic) periodicals covering topics that span Ancient Egypt, Coptic period, Islamic art, architecture, cinema, culinary history, costume, and medicine. Its name references the Egyptian storyteller, the raconteur of oral history.

Core products include the annual periodical (Issues 1-12), bespoke limited-edition books, curated exhibitions and galleries, an audio podcast channel, online long-form articles, and an interactive digital timeline of Egyptian history. Distribution spans the company's own website, social media channels (YouTube, Instagram, Facebook), and a partnership with Google Arts & Culture that showcases Egyptian heritage content globally.

The business model combines direct-to-consumer sales of limited-edition print publications and bespoke books with content-driven brand and partnership revenue. The company serves two principal segments: a general audience interested in Egyptian cultural heritage, and academic and research institutions focused on Egyptology and Middle Eastern studies. A dedicated translation function supports its bilingual English/Arabic offerings. No external venture or private equity funding is disclosed; the firm operates as a bootstrapped independent with 1-10 employees. Pricing is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Rawi Publishing

Legal name

Rawi Publishing

Website

https://rawi-publishing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rawi Publishing is a Cairo-based, founder-owned bilingual (English/Arabic) publishing and cultural curation platform producing annual periodicals, bespoke books, exhibitions, podcasts, and digital content on Egyptian history and heritage for general readers and academic audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Heritage Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Humanities & Arts Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Special Education & Accessibility-Optimized Media (UDL, AAC, Captioning) (EDAGALAH)

Keywords

• Cultural heritage publishing
• Bilingual periodicals
• Egyptian history content
• Heritage editorial content
• Cultural curation publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Cairo

HQ country

Egypt

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Rawi Publishing is a Cairo-based cultural curation and publishing platform that produces annual bilingual (English/Arabic) periodicals on Egyptian history and heritage (Issues 1-11 since 2010). It also produces bespoke limited-edition books, curates exhibitions and galleries, publishes online articles, distributes podcasts, and offers an interactive digital timeline of Egyptian history.

Product overview

Rawi Publishing is a Cairo-based cultural curation and publishing platform that produces annual bilingual (English/Arabic) periodicals on Egyptian history and heritage, bespoke limited-edition books, curated exhibitions and galleries, podcasts, and digital content including an interactive timeline. The core offerings consist of their periodicals (Issues 1-11 from 2010-2021), online articles, podcasts, and their Google Arts & Culture partnership.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Annual Bilingual Periodicals Bilingual (English/Arabic) annual periodicals on Egyptian history and heritage covering topics such as costume history, culinary history, cinema, modern art, jewelry and adornment, Coptic Egypt, architecture, and ancient Egypt. Eleven issues published from 2010 to 2021.
• Bespoke Limited-Edition Books Custom limited-edition books on history, heritage, and art produced by Rawi Publishing as a complement to its annual periodicals.
• Podcasts Audio podcasts on Egyptian history and heritage topics, including episodes on food history, mental health institutions, and healing practices in Egypt.
• Exhibitions and Galleries Curated exhibitions and galleries showcasing research on Egyptian history, heritage, and art.
• Interactive Timeline Interactive digital timeline covering Egyptian history from the Pre-Dynastic Period through the establishment of the Republic of Egypt in 1952.
• Articles Online articles on Egyptian history, heritage, and culture including topics such as Cairo tiling, clothing in the Coptic period, ancient Egyptian food, Nubian jewelry, Port Said architecture, and Deir al-Surian monastery.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Google Arts & CulturecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRawi has partnered with Google Arts & Culture to showcase Egyptian heritage through curated digital content and online exhibitions. The partnership extends Rawi's reach to a global audience interested in art, history, and cultural heritage.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ancient Egypt Magazine: UK-based bimonthly magazine dedicated to ancient Egyptian history and archaeology. It competes directly with Rawi for the English-reading Egyptology enthusiast audience and matches Rawi's editorial emphasis on accessible scholarly content with strong photography.
• American University in Cairo Press (AUC Press): AUC Press is the leading English-language publisher on Egypt and the Middle East, producing scholarly books, journals, and the renowned Khayrallah Center publications. It directly overlaps Rawi in audience, subject matter, and bilingual scholarly publishing on Egyptian history, heritage, and art.
• KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt: KMT is a long-running English-language scholarly journal covering ancient Egyptian history, art, and archaeology. It is comparable to Rawi as a niche Egyptology periodical targeting serious enthusiasts and academics with high-quality editorial content and strong visual production.

Emerging players

• Atlas Obscura: Atlas Obscura produces curated editorial content on cultural heritage, hidden history, and travel, with multimedia storytelling, podcasts, and experiential offerings. It is comparable to Rawi as a content-first heritage brand that has expanded into digital media, podcasts, and curated experiences.

Regional players

• Nubian Museum / Grand Egyptian Museum content initiatives: State-backed Egyptian cultural institutions producing exhibitions, scholarly catalogs, and digital heritage content. They are comparable to Rawi's exhibitions and curated-gallery expansion, representing the institutional side of the same Egyptian heritage curation market.
• Al-Ahram Center for Translation and Publishing: Affiliated with Al-Ahram, Egypt's flagship press institution, this center publishes translated and original Arabic and bilingual cultural and historical titles. It is comparable to Rawi as a Cairo-based publisher of heritage and cultural content with bilingual ambitions.
• Dar El Shorouk: One of Egypt's largest Arabic-language publishing houses producing books, periodicals, and cultural content. It is comparable as a Cairo-rooted publisher with deep Arabic-language heritage content, though it operates at significantly larger scale than Rawi and is primarily Arabic-monolingual.

Broad incumbents

• Egypt Exploration Society: The Egypt Exploration Society is a long-established UK learned society publishing peer-reviewed journals, monographs, and excavation reports on Egyptology. It is a broader incumbent in the same niche scholarly publishing space where Rawi operates, with institutional backing and academic credibility.
• Skirball Cultural Center / Smithsonian Magazine heritage publications: Large cultural-heritage publications like Smithsonian Magazine share Rawi's positioning of blending authoritative scholarly content with high production values and visual storytelling, though at much greater scale. They represent the broader incumbent model Rawi's premium brand aspires toward.
• Brill | Hotei Publishing (Egyptology list): Brill is a major international academic publisher with a significant Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies list. It is comparable to Rawi as a publisher of authoritative Egyptology content, though operating at a much higher scholarly and institutional level.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCKGrdlKkxh38Qb2hgJt0thw
• Facebookfacebook.com/rawipublishing
• Instagraminstagram.com/rawi.publishing/?hl=en
• Xx.com/rawipublishing
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rawi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rawi Publishing