South Africa-based media and e-commerce group Naspers has invested $75m in United Arab Emirates-based e-commerce platform Souq.com, bringing Souq’s overall funding to $150m.
Naspers previously participated alongside investment firm Tiger Global Management and the Dubai-based Jabbar Internet Group, both prior investors, in an equity round raised by Souq in 2012 that was reported to be $40m. The company has now raised about $150m in total.
Founded in Dubai in 2005, initially as an online auction site, Souq has grown into both a retail site and an online marketplace for third-party retailers. It claims to have grown more than tenfold in the past two years and currently has 6.2 million registered users.
“This latest round of funding is testament to the trust that the market and our investors have in our offering,” said Souq.com CEO Ronaldo Mouchawar. “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.”