Rizo Masr

What Rizo Masr does

Rizo Masr (legal name: Rizomasr) is an Egyptian independent publisher and artist collective that operates a direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform selling curated, culturally-specific creative products. Founded and operated from New Maadi, Cairo, the company sells greeting cards, zines, stationery, posters, books, magazines, calendars, and accessories — many produced using risograph printing, an analog technique that yields textured prints with limited color palettes and is treated as a deliberate aesthetic choice rather than a cost-engineering decision. The product catalog spans 251 items across core categories and sub-collections including Cairo neighborhood city maps (Zamalek, Maadi, Old Cairo, Heliopolis), the Butterflies of Egypt identification series, the Bel Monasba postcard line, and annual calendars and agendas.

The business runs entirely through a Shopify-hosted online store (rizomasr.com) with English and Arabic language support, multi-currency display (Egyptian Pounds and US Dollars), and global shipping via international payment methods (Mastercard, PayPal, Visa). Distribution is exclusively direct-to-consumer; the only marketing channels documented are an organic Instagram presence (@rizomasr), the storefront itself, and a newsletter offering a 10% first-order discount code ('Welcome10'). Pricing is unit-based across all categories with no subscription or recurring revenue model. The 'Artist In Store' program aggregates independent artists' zines, books, and accessories onto the platform on consignment, functioning as a curated third-party creative marketplace alongside first-party publishing. The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional investors, no funding rounds, and no management-team data in the source set.

Name

Rizo Masr

Legal name

Rizomasr

Website

https://rizomasr.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rizo Masr is an Egyptian independent publisher and artist collective operating a Shopify-based direct-to-consumer e-commerce store selling risograph-printed greeting cards, zines, stationery, posters, books, calendars, and Cairo city guides to art enthusiasts, gift buyers, and international customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Publishing

NAICS

Office Supplies, Stationery, and Gift Retailers (4594), Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Retailers (45942), Office Supplies and Stationery Retailers (459410)

SIC

Retail-Misc General Merchandise Stores (5399)

akta.pro primary industry

Seasonal & Holiday Craft Supplies Retail (CRALACAI)

Keywords

• Independent publishing
• Risograph printing
• Greeting cards
• Art zines
• Cultural merchandise

Headquarters

HQ city

Cairo

HQ country

Egypt

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Direct Product Sales: Direct e-commerce sales of printed products including greeting cards, zines, posters, stationery, books, magazines, maps, calendars, and accessories. Products are sold at fixed price points in Egyptian Pounds. No subscription model is evident.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Rizo Masr sells its own printed creative products — greeting cards, zines, posters, stationery, books, magazines, calendars, and Cairo neighborhood map guides — through a Shopify-hosted online store, primarily using risograph printing. The store carries 251+ products at fixed unit prices in Egyptian Pounds, ships globally, and supports English and Arabic. It also hosts an "Artist In Store" consignment program that distributes independent artists' zines, books, and accessories.

Product overview

Rizo Masr is an Egyptian independent publisher and artist collective operating an e-commerce platform. Their product portfolio consists primarily of self-published and consignment creative works including Zines (the core offering covering art, culture, Egyptian culture, writing, poetry, and comics), Greeting Cards for various occasions, Stationery products (notebooks, bookmarks, stickers), Posters featuring butterflies, Egyptian themes and risograph prints, Books and Magazines, and Accessories. They also publish city guide maps for Cairo neighborhoods (Zamalek, Maadi, Old Cairo, Heliopolis), calendars and agendas, and specialized collections like the Butterflies of Egypt series and Bel Monasba Cards. Products are sold through their Shopify-hosted online store.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Zines Self-published and consignment mini-publications featuring art, culture, Egyptian culture, writing, poetry, comics, and niche topics created by independent artists.
• Greeting Cards Greeting cards for various occasions including birthdays, holidays, love, congratulations, well wishes, Eid, Valentine's, and Easter, featuring Egyptian-themed and locally-inspired designs.
• Stationery Notebooks, sketchbooks, bookmarks, stickers, and recycled paper products for creative and writing purposes.
• Posters Art prints and posters featuring butterflies, Egyptian themes, city maps, and cultural illustrations, many printed using risograph technique.
• Books and Magazines Published books, magazines, and limited edition publications covering topics like art, culture, cooking, history, and Egyptian heritage.
• Accessories Various art-related accessories including the Make Maadi Green Again cap, dice games, and other creative items.
• Butterflies of Egypt Collection Illustrated butterfly identification posters and materials featuring Egyptian butterfly species from Hesperiidae, Lycaenidae, Nymphalidae, Pieridae, and Papilonidae families.
• Bel Monasba Cards Postcard collections celebrating local Egyptian culture and occasions with wit, warmth, and sarcasm, including Classic, Questionable, and Potentially Appropriate Occasions variants.
• Zamalek Maps A3 folded city guide brochure featuring Sightseeing, Best Bites, and Shops and Boutiques sections for the Zamalek neighborhood of Cairo.
• Maadi Maps A3 folded city guide brochure for Maadi neighborhood featuring Best Bites or Sights and Shops sections.
• Old Cairo Maps A3 folded city guide brochure featuring Best Bites or Sightseeing sections for Old Cairo.
• Heliopolis Maps A3 folded city guide brochure for Heliopolis neighborhood covering dining, drinking, and discovery spots.
• Rizo Masr 2026 Fruits Calendar Illustrated wall calendar featuring colorful fruit illustrations by Ahmad Aladawi with design by Yara Gharib, available in Yellow and White colors.
• Rizo Masr 2026 Pocket Agenda Pocket-sized daily agenda (17.5cm x 9.5cm) for convenient carrying and scheduling.
• So We Don't Wake Cairo (Artist In Store) Booklet documenting late-night car journeys through Cairo streets, featuring traffic camera captures and artist Amr El Komy's work, sold through the Artist In Store consignment program.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• American Greetings: Major publicly-traded greeting card and stationery manufacturer. Provides broad-industry context for the greeting card retail category and represents the dominant competitive pressure at the mass-market end.
• Paper Source: Specialty retailer of stationery, greeting cards, and gift wrap. Comparable product mix (cards, stationery, gifts) but operates through physical retail plus e-commerce at a much larger scale, with mainstream rather than culturally-niche positioning.
• Hallmark Cards: Dominant mass-market greeting card and stationery company. Overlaps heavily with Rizo Masr's card and stationery categories but at vastly greater scale, with mainstream rather than culturally-specific content; serves as the reference benchmark for category economics.

Direct peers

• Ohh Deer: UK-based independent designer-led greeting cards, stationery, and art print brand sold DTC online. Closely comparable model to Rizo Masr: small-batch curated catalog, independent artist collaborations, multi-language e-commerce, cultural/quirky design sensibility.
• Papier: Direct-to-consumer personalized stationery, greeting cards, and paper goods brand. Highly comparable DTC e-commerce motion with multi-currency global shipping; however Papier operates at much larger scale and focuses on personalization rather than cultural curation.
• Microcosm Publishing: Independent publisher and distributor of zines, books, and DIY culture materials. Comparable as a niche indie publisher focused on zines and small-press publications with a strong subcultural identity and direct-to-consumer sales motion.
• Felt: New Zealand-based online art print marketplace supporting independent artists via consignment. Highly analogous structure to Rizo Masr's 'Artist In Store' program — a curated marketplace where indie creators sell prints, cards, and stationery, with global shipping.
• Silver Sprocket Bicycle Club: San Francisco-based indie comic and zine publisher with associated retail. Directly comparable as a small independent publisher producing zines and alternative art publications with cultural/community identity and DTC sales.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/rizomasr/?hl=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rizomasr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Rizo Masr