Souq.com raises new round of funding from Naspers 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 marketplace.

The funding will support the growth of the Souq.com group of companies, which includes souq.com, sukar.com and 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."