Souq.com raises new round of funding from Naspers and Tiger Global

Press release

Published October 30th, 2012 - 04:45 GMT

Al Bawaba

Souq.com, the largest online retailer in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region today announced a new round of investment from Naspers Limited and Tiger Global.The South African multi-national media and internet group Naspers joins existing investors Tiger Global and Jabbar Internet Group through a minority interest.

With 8 million unique visits per month and a customer base of 3.5 million covering UAE, KSA, Egypt and Kuwait, Souq.com is today the largest e-commerce site in the MENA region, offering a mixed model of retail and market place.The funding will support the growth of the Souq.com group of companies, which includes www.souq.com, www.sukar.com and www.run2sport.com, as well as their expansion into regional markets.

“We will use the capital from this investment to offer our customers even more choice with a best in class online shopping experience, expanding into new categories such as Fashion and Lifestyle and opening our own logistics centers in UAE, KSA and Egypt”, said Ronaldo Mouchawar, CEO of Souq.com.

Samih Toukan, Chairman and CEO at Jabbar Internet Group, the group of leading internet sites and web properties in the Middle East and North Africa commented: “This funding is a major milestone for e-commerce in the region, and is the most significant investment of its kind in the Arab world since Yahoo! acquired Maktoob in 2009.”

Background Information

Souq.com

Souq.com was established in 2005 to become the largest e-commerce site in the Arab world covering Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan and Egypt. Souq.com is the channel where thousands of buyers and sellers in the region meet on a daily basis to sell products over a trusted platform that offers both various local payment options and integrated delivery methods catered to the markets that they serve.