Egyptian Streetwear Label Zonta Debuts First-Ever Arabic Sneakers

To anyone living in Cairo, the sight of Arabic word-art plastered on walls is as ubiquitous as it is beautiful. Yet what perhaps is unusual to encounter is Arabic on footwear, which is exactly the market gap Egyptian-born streetwear label Zonta sought to fill with the launch of their very first Arabic footwear collection, which debuted on the season finale of Shark Tank Egypt - and walked away with quite the impressive deal.

Zonta’s Drop 1.0 collection puts Arabic front and center, with sleek, minimalist sneakers. Words like Hob (love), Shaghaf (passion), and Fakhr (pride) are inscribed across the footwear—bold, unapologetic, and deeply rooted in Arab identity.

Ahmed El Hefny and Sameh Radwan, Zonta’s co-founders (and co-founders of e-commerce agency Amzolute), know how to scale brands. But with Zonta, they’re carving out an entirely new lane. “Not only are we pushing something new, we’re creating an entirely new sub-genre of Arabic sneakers. This is not something a lot of brands can proudly claim, and that is our edge,” he tells SceneStyled.

Merging his love for sneakers with a deep appreciation for Arab culture, El Hefny was clear on Zonta’s direction from the start. “When we launched a little over a year ago, I knew this is what I wanted to do, but I also knew there was going to be a big learning curve ahead of me.” That learning curve coincided with a pivotal moment—Zonta’s appearance on Shark Tank Egypt. “Shark Tank called right when we were reinventing ourselves and introducing the new Arabic line, and I said, ‘It’s funny you would reach out now.’”

With its debut collection setting the stage, Zonta is just getting started. The goal? Merging Arab culture with premium streetwear and taking it global. “We want to be next to Axel Arigato and all these big names at Harrods and Selfridges,” El Hefny says. “We’re not just targeting Arabs in the region, we’re targeting Arab diaspora all over the world—we want to go global.”

Of course, designing sneakers with Arabic script comes with cultural considerations. “It’s sensitive putting Arabic words on footwear; you can easily offend if you choose the wrong word,” he explains. “So we went for positive and affirming words. No one is more passionate than an Arab—even habibi is the most popular word in Arabic. We chose words that represent our culture and push positive messages.”

And the gamble paid off. On the Shark Tank season finale, Zonta secured a massive EGP 5 million deal for 15% equity from sharks Mohamed Farouk, Abdallah Sallam, and guest shark Noor Sweid. “To say it went really well would be an understatement—we got five offers. It was a spicy episode,” El Hefny laughs.