Jollibee billionaire Tony Tan Caktiong brings $102 million hotel project to Africa with 750-room Cairo property

Hotel101 Global, the international hotel company backed by Jollibee billionaire Tony Tan Caktiong, is entering Africa with a $102.09 million property planned for Cairo. The Nasdaq-listed company has signed binding agreements with WNTR Property & Hospitality, an affiliate of Egyptian conglomerate IGI Holding, for a countrywide hotel-development partnership.

• Hotel101 Global has signed a binding agreement to enter Africa through a 750-room hotel project in Egypt.
• The Cairo development is expected to generate approximately $102.09 million in project value.
• Hotel101 is backed by DoubleDragon co-owner and Jollibee founder Tony Tan Caktiong, whose fortune is estimated at $1.1 billion.
• The agreement allows Hotel101 to pursue additional properties across Egypt as the country expands its tourism infrastructure.

Its first project will be Hotel101-Cairo West, an approximately 750-room property planned for 6th of October City in Giza.

The development is expected to generate EGP5.465 billion, equivalent to approximately $102.09 million, in total project value. Hotel101 expects to complete the property in 2029, subject to government, regulatory and corporate approvals.

If completed as planned, Hotel101-Cairo West will rank among Cairo’s three largest hotels by number of rooms. It will be built on a 15,984-square-metre site along Ahmed Zewail Road, about ten minutes from the Giza pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum.

According to Hotel101’s corporate announcement⁠, the development will include four-star accommodation, restaurants, swimming pools, meeting facilities, a ballroom and a conference centre.

The agreement represents Hotel101’s first entry into Africa and extends beyond the initial Cairo property. Its partnership with WNTR provides a framework for the hotel company to develop additional locations across Egypt.

The billionaire behind Hotel101’s global expansion

Hotel101 Global is a subsidiary of Philippine-listed DoubleDragon Corporation, which is jointly owned by property entrepreneur Edgar “Injap” Sia II and Tony Tan Caktiong.

Tan Caktiong founded Jollibee as an ice-cream business in the Philippines before turning it into one of Asia’s largest restaurant groups. Jollibee Foods now controls restaurant brands operating across several international markets.

Forbes estimated Tan Caktiong’s fortune at approximately $1.1 billion in March 2026. He is also co-chairman of DoubleDragon, the property company behind Hotel101.

Hotel101 founder Edgar Sia led the signing ceremony with IGI Holding vice-chairman Khaled Sheta. Although Tan Caktiong did not personally sign the Egyptian agreement, his investment in DoubleDragon makes him one of the principal billionaire backers of Hotel101’s international expansion.

The Egyptian partner also brings considerable local experience. The Sheta family has controlled IGI Group since 1942, building interests across property, construction, manufacturing, petroleum, hospitality, food and heavy industry.

IGI Developments, the conglomerate’s property division, has operated in Egypt since the 1990s. It controls a land portfolio of approximately 2.5 million square metres and has developed communities housing more than 40,000 residents.

Egypt’s tourism expansion attracts another foreign investor

Hotel101 is entering Egypt as the North African country invests heavily in airports, museums, coastal resorts and large-scale property developments to increase tourism revenue.

Egypt reportedly welcomed almost 19 million international visitors in 2025. The government has been seeking additional hotel capacity to accommodate further growth, particularly around Cairo, the Red Sea coast and the country’s Mediterranean tourism corridor.

Hotel101-Cairo West’s proximity to the pyramids and Grand Egyptian Museum places it near two of the country’s most recognisable attractions.

The property will also target business travellers through its meeting rooms, ballroom and conference facilities, allowing it to compete for corporate events alongside conventional leisure tourism.

The development could create construction and hospitality jobs in Egypt while adding hundreds of rooms to Cairo’s hotel capacity. Local suppliers and service providers may also benefit if Hotel101 sources food, maintenance and other operational needs domestically.

Hotel101, meanwhile, gains its first foothold on a continent where expanding urban populations, improved air connectivity and rising international arrivals are driving demand for branded accommodation.

The company operates an asset-light “condotel” model under which individual hotel units can be sold to investors and subsequently managed as standardised hotel rooms. This allows Hotel101 to expand while limiting the amount of capital it must commit directly to owning each building.

Its wider ambition is to build a network of one million rooms across more than 100 countries and become the world’s largest single-brand hotel chain.

Hotel101 opened a 680-room property in Madrid in March 2026 and plans to open another 482-room hotel in Niseko, Japan. It has also announced projects in several other international markets.