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10 Years Artbox!

Writer's picture: Mostafa KhafagiMostafa Khafagi

Artbox is turning 10! It started more than 20 years ago during the early 2000s when I was at school, interested in drawing, and trying to learn Photoshop. My father bought me my first digital pocket camera 1MP quality camera from the USA, it was extraordinary to take shots without film! My eagerness for Art started to appear clearly with non-stoppable development throughout my university studies. As one of the first students to join the German University in Cairo in 2003, I joined many active working groups forming the first official university magazine, designing the first welcome party ticket for the university & creating its mascot that is still presented in the main entrance of the university. I was always the weird guy who was interested in Art along with engineering students. I launched another magazine gathering 40 colleagues from different majors, getting sponsors & creating content on our own. During the same years, I started to go professionally by designing brand identities & shooting for famous magazines actually for free. When I started to generate income from my hobby in addition to my parents’ unconditional support, I invested in my gear with no single regret. I worked for a multinational oil & gas company as an engineer then moved to a JV company with BP as a project engineer. In 2010 my dear friend Mohamed ElNaggary & I started to think about opening a private business in the creative industry, which took us a lot of months to think about our risky career shift from engineering to the creative field. In 2011 we started to take serious steps but the revolution slapped our faces, pushing us to postpone the idea to a later unknown date. In 2012 we took the decision to open Artbox after a big opportunity offered to us to work with a huge name like Mars. In 2013 my only partner had to leave Egypt for a very attractive offer at our main engineering career, leaving me with many contradicting feelings. In 2014 I started again alone under the same name Artbox grabbing the attention of market tycoons like P&G & PepsiCo. During the same period, the social media field started to prevail over the advertising scene, and I started to think dynamic and agile, Why not offer the service? My friend Mahmoud Aladin offered me the opportunity to handle the branding & social media of his companies which gave me a push in the field of Digital Marketing. From 2012 to 2015 I worked two jobs Project Engineer at the site & Entrepreneur, it was really hectic, and not stop working for around 3 years continuously. My wife supported me with unconditional efforts to handle such an unlogical workload. In 2015 I took the decision to leave my Engineering career to be fully dedicated to Artbox, taking less than 1/3 of my secured Oil & Gas Salary. Over the 10 years journey, I worked with many great people and faced lots of challenges starting from 2 revolutions, many currency devaluations & global pandemic. Artbox now worked more than 1,000 Projects, more than 300 happy clients & in 11 countries. I’d like to thank my wife, my mother, my father who I couldn’t make it without him, Mohamed Elnaggary, my team especially Ahmed Saad Ahmed Tarek Hesham Mohamed Helal Menna S. El-Shafie, My university staff especially Dr. Farouk El Razzaz who passed away a few years ago, Mrs. Amina Kasseb my Art teacher at school and all the people who trusted my talent & gave me the opportunity. Thank you!

Mostafa Khafagi – December 2022

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