Maktoob.com eyes Iraq market

The new announcement makes Maktoob.com one of the first Arab corporate entities to establish full-fledged business operations in Iraq as the war-battered country attempts to limp back to economic recovery. Maktoob.com's move is also expected to encourage other regional and international players to recognize Iraq's potential as a strategic trade and finance hub and motivate them to set up a solid presence in the country.

The online Arab giant will initially launch the largest Internet café in Baghdad before moving on to introducing innovative web-based concepts in the region, a top Maktoob.com official said. He added that the Internet café, to be set up in the Al Mansoor neighborhood of the city, will feature more than 100 computers and will be the first of a series of business ventures planned for the region.

'Iraq represents a highly knowledgeable market where trendsetting solutions and ideas are bound to succeed,' explained Samih Toukan, CEO of Maktoob.com. 'While providing local residents with employment opportunities and supporting the region's economy, Maktoob.com's ventures will seek to put a wealth of online resources within easy reach of the Iraqi people.'

Toukan added that in the coming years, Iraq was set to command a huge slice of the Middle East's online media market and was expected to rival current leaders Saudi Arabia and Egypt in terms of Internet usage. At the same time, he cautioned that it would take some time before this positive trend could be felt in the Arab world.

'Our decision to enter the Iraqi market in a major way by establishing an Internet café with more than 100 computers reflects our confidence in the region's potential as a future technology destination in the Middle East,' Toukan added.

Spread over an area of 400 square metres and staffed by 15 people, the Maktoob.com Internet café will aim to introduce the region's online users to the advantages of the Internet.

In just five years of operation, Maktoob.com has become a success story of sorts in the Arab world's online media industry. Beginning with offering web-based bilingual email, the company has diversified towards offering both Internet users and companies a range of IT solutions that are developed inhouse.