Dr. Mounir Neamatalla

On today’s episode, pioneering environmentalist Dr. Mounir Neamatalla tells me about his groundbreaking work that aims to strike a balance between development, social responsibility and the environment:

I believed that if you establish solid relationships with your natural and physical environment, solid relationships with communities, and if you establish solid relationships with your past, present, and future, you appreciate your heritage, that together these are formulas for creating magical results. You can literally combat a lot of the social problems and create a lot of opportunities for entire communities.

Dr. Mounir Neamatalla is the founder of Environment Quality International, EQI, which he founded in 1981. EQI started out as the first environment-focused advisory in Egypt and went on to become a pioneer in the world of micro-finance. Then in 1996, Dr. Mounir’s visit to the remote oasis of Siwa led to the launch of the pathbreaking Siwa Sustainable Development Initiative.

My conversation with Dr. Mounir was special for a number of reasons—he is a family friend, I’ve long-admired his philosophy on life and how he sees the world, and he has all the characteristics of what is fast becoming a bygone era. He is a romantic, a dreamer, a deep thinker, choosing the slower measured approach over today's fast and frenetic pace. He has been on my podcast wish list since the show's inception but he kept resisting my requests to come on and share his story...until now.