[1] He left his home in 1899 to pursue his higher education in England, where he stayed for two years doing business management and commercial studies.

[5] Thus, in 1911, the colonial government granted him a plot of land close to Port Sudan to build a cotton processing factory.

[1] Compared to Capato though, as Makris concludes, he "had much more impact than the former – founding churches, schools and other community buildings and offering large sums of money to assist in the establishment of smaller communities in the provinces.”[5] In 1918, repairs and expansion works at the Greek-Orthodox Church of the Annunciation in Khartoum were started thanks to a large donation by Contomichalos.

One year later he was one of the founders of the Greek Community in Wad Madani, since his company was in possession of a large area used for corn cultivation there.

In 1937, he furthermore took the initiative to set up the "Charity Brotherhood of the Greek Women in Khartoum-Sudan", which continued to support needy community members with grants for more than three decades.

This was one of Photini’s fond memories, especially in her old and sick state, when she was no longer receiving substantial support from those who claim to continue the charitable work of men like Gerasimos Kontomichalos.

However, with the emergence of Sudanese nationalism after World War I, Contomichalos started "supporting community leaders with nationalist aspirations"[5] and developed “particularly close” ties with Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi, a son of Muhammad Ahmad who had declared himself the Mahdi and defeated the Ottoman-Egyptian rule in 1885.

[1] In 1935, Contomichalos became a major shareholder in a company that started publishing the "Al-Nil" daily newspaper, along with al-Mahdi, a British businessman, and Mustafa Aboulela, a merchant of Egyptian origin.

According to the UoK study, the paper "continued to be censored daily" and Contomichalos' representative had a recalcitrant editor fired in 1938, making it a "propaganda medium" of the colonial regime.

[11] Moreover, Contomichalos wielded considerable influence on politics in Greece as well, since he entertained a "close relationship" with Eleftherios Venizelos, the eminent Greek Liberal leader.

[13] In 1936, shortly after he had regained his throne, the King endorsed the conservative totalitarian and staunchly anti-communist 4th of August Regime under the leadership of General Ioannis Metaxas.

after his initials – "had the good fortune to marry a beautiful and extremely rich Greek lady" from Alexandria, since there was a sizeable community of Greeks in Egypt :[5] Catherine, née Haicalis (1886–1966), was the daughter of Nicolas Haicalis,[15] the editor-proprietor of an important newspaper, "whose friendship with the Khedive Ismail in the 1860s had earned him the title of Bey.

[17] In 1954, the year that Contomichalos passed away, his son Eleftherios donated on behalf of the family a substantial amount of money to expand the primary Trampeios School.

Makris concludes that "If Capato represented the colourful and adventurous past of the Greek presence in the Sudan, Contomichalos personified the accomplishments of the mature community.

"[5] Chaldeos argues that the life achievement of the "emblematic" magnate was "his great contribution to the progress, development, and prosperity of the country".