Souq, an online store, has declared that it has closed a financing round of more than $275M.Bloomberg had earlier reported that Souq was trying to raise money.
The Bloomberg report went on to pronounce the valuation was $1 billion. However, Souq didn’t comment on the valuation.
Bloomberg had earlier reported that Souq was trying to raise money. The Bloomberg report went on to pronounce the valuation of the company was $1 billion. However, Souq did not make any comment on the valuation.
According to the Souq’s spokesperson,
“We don’t comment on the valuation of the company. All we can tell you is that over the past ten years, Souq.com has gone from strength to strength, paving the way for e-commerce to thrive and for local and international businesses to flourish in this region.”
Souq has declared that this was the best-ever funding in the e-commerce category. The funding mainly came from the financiers Tiger Global Management and Naspers.
Some of the strategic investors including IFC, Baillie Gifford and Standard Chartered Private Equity also made contributions.
Quite a few other renowned regional and tech-centered financial institutions also threw in their financial support.
Souq aims at investing these funds to scale-up its current business operations, introducing latest product categories and employing the finest talent.
According to Ronaldo Mouchawar, CEO, Souq.com,
“The funding will be used to drive further growth by investing in technology, scaling our marketplace operations, launching new product categories and recruiting the best talent.”
“As the largest e-commerce platform in the region, we focus on the value we bring through technology and job creation. We connect people to products through our retail and marketplace model. Through cutting edge technology, we enable our consumers to make smarter choices and access to mobile commerce is further empowering them.”
Souq anticipates that the e-commerce market in the Middle East will reach $20 billion in 2016.