Egyptian start-up offers end-to-end undertaking service

Employees of Sokna funeral service company stand near service desk of Koran and prayer beads during training amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt May 19, 2021. Picture taken May 19, 2021. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian start-up is looking to shake up the undertaking sector by offering a full package of funeral and burial services to clients it finds at hospitals.

For a price, Sokna - Arabic for "calm" or "repose" - says it gives the bereaved space to mourn, free from the usual logistics and bureaucracy. This can be stressful in Egypt, partly due to the Muslim custom of burying people swiftly after death.