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Middle Eastern online retailer Souq.com secures 275 million dollars in funding

By Angela Gonzalez-Rodriguez

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Leading online retailer in the Middle East, Souq.com, has raised 275 million dollars in a funding round with investors to support its future growth.

This is the largest-ever fundraising in the region's e-commerce space, highlights Reuters.

Souq.com, which sells consumer electronics, fashion and household goods among others, said investors participating in the funding round included Tiger Global Management, Naspers, Standard Chartered Private Equity, International Finance Corporation and Baillie Gifford.

Both Naspers and Tiger Global Management had also invested in previous funding rounds, while in a separate statement, Standard Chartered Private Equity said it had invested 50 million dollars in Souq.com for a minority stake. It did not specify the stake size.

Chief Executive Ronaldo Mouchawar has not purchased any shares this time, explaining that no shareholder had a majority in the company.

As advanced by the online retailer, the money raised will be put to support the growth of its product offering, development on mobiles, as well as logistics, including its last-mile delivery and payment services.

Souq.com mostly serves customers in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt but last year began delivering to customers in Oman, Qatar and Bahrain. Looking at ways to service Kuwait from its Dubai hub would be part of its future plans, according to Mouchawar.

"The region has many countries, one language, one culture, but you need to get your logistics in order to make sure you serve the whole region and not just one area," explains the company’s CEO, adding that the Middle East e-commerce market was expected to be worth 20 billion dollars in 2016.

Souq.com