Munkad Al Hakeem
The man behind MUNKGAR, a founder raised between humidors and code editors.
The origin of MUNKGAR
Munkad Al Hakeem grew up inside a cigar shop, watching customers speak about cigars with the seriousness of art collectors. While others saw shelves, bands, smoke, and cedar boxes, Munkad saw systems. He spent his youth coding in the back of the shop, building small tools, cataloging inventory, studying preferences, and quietly learning why some cigars became legends.
His favourite book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, taught him CORE business principles that pushed him to build his first company, an LED lights business powered by long nights of coding, debugging, testing, and rebuilding until the operation ran exactly how he wanted. After selling that business, Munkad realized his true calling was not lights, it was MUNKGARS.
That double life became the foundation of MUNKGAR, a luxury cigar house built around the belief that taste can be crafted with both soul and structure. His cigars, known as MUNKGARS, blend old-world cigar making with an algorithmic founder’s mindset.
“I learned smoke before I learned strategy. I learned code before I learned compromise.”
Founder Timeline
The MUNKGAR myth is built like a founder documentary, humble shop floor, private obsession, luxury breakthrough.
Munkad spends long days in his family’s cigar shop, absorbing every ritual of the trade.
He begins coding behind the counter, building small systems for stock, tasting notes, and customer preferences.
Inspired by Rich Dad Poor Dad, Munkad launches his first business in LED lights, coding the systems himself and debugging the operation until it was ready to sell.
He creates a personal scoring system for blends, treating each cigar like a build that must pass testing.
MUNKGAR launches as a luxury identity around handmade cigars, private releases, and founder-led craft.