MENA region commerce platform Souq.com has secured USD75m (AED275.5m) in an additional round of funding from existing investor Naspers Limited.
This round of funding brings the total amount raised by Souq.com to USD150m (AED551m) – the largest amount raised by any internet-based business in the region.
Souq.com has grown more than 10 fold in the past two years. Souq.com registers 23 million visits per month on its website, and 6.2 million registered users. It offers the widest selection of products in over 15 categories, from electronic gadgets to baby nappies, in a combined retail and marketplace model.
Ronaldo Mouchawar, co-founder and CEO, Souq.com, says: “This latest round of funding is testament to the trust that the market and our investors have in our offering. We plan to use the funds to deepen our technology investment. We will focus on innovation to provide our customers with a unique and advanced mobile experience, a personalised user experience, and unprecedented delivery and customer service quality. We will also invest in our talent pool to help build these world-class standards.”
A recent PayPal study shows that MENA is an attractive market for ecommerce, with an online penetration of more than 110 million users, a market size that will reach USD15bn by 2015, of which 10 per cent are mobile transactions that will grow six times in the next four years. Fifty two per cent of all online shoppers in the UAE have shopped on Souq.com.
