He was chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Islamic Chamber of Commerce. Kamel was called "the father of contemporary Islamic finance", receiving Malaysia's Royal Award for Islamic Finance in November 2010. He attempted to significantly expand trade among member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation countries and to promote Jeddah as a leading international port and hub for global commerce. In his capacity as chairman of DBHC and the JCC, he led numerous projects to promote the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a regional economic force. Kamel stated that his vision was to combine the efforts of his DBHC and the Chamber of commerce with ongoing mega-infrastructure projects such as King Abdullah Port, the Economic City, the new railways, and the King Abdullah International Airport to catalyze domestic business across the Kingdom.