Source: Times of Oman

Mohsin Haider Darwish, one of the largest and pioneering business houses in the Sultanate of Oman, has signed an agreement to become a significant shareholder in the unique innovative global online marketplace – Nabay.com.

The investment will help accelerate the platform’s user-focused mission to become one of the largest cross-border e-commerce marketplaces in the region, as well as underscores MHD’s commitment towards expanding its market reach within the GCC region, and beyond.

The signing ceremony took place on May 6, at MHD HD head office in Muscat. Representing Nabay.com at the signing was its founder and chairman, Nabeel Jawad Sultan, while Mohammed Abdallah Al Kharusi, the Chief Investment Officer of MHD-ITICS, signed on behalf of MHD. Also in attendance at the event were other members of the executive and senior management of both companies.

Nabay.com, a pioneering initiative by Nabeel Jawad Sultan, is a unique and innovative global online e-commerce marketplace offering. The platform offers three core services from a single platform for consumers and businesses around the world – both on web and mobile apps – termed as its three pillars – a one of its kind online mall ‘The Nabay Mall’, a community exchange engine ‘The Barter Exchange’, and a unique concept for an existing website to plug into the platform ‘The Plugged In’.

The first of these pillars, and the one that is at the very heart of the platform, ‘The Nabay Mall’ has been designed to offer businesses and sellers the freedom to open their personalised store, complete with their own brand identity, within a dynamic and diverse global online mall.

In addition to the independent store, businesses are also presented with the full gamut of e-fulfilment services expected of a platform of this calibre, including payment gateways, end-to-end logistics store administration, and analytics. This, together with its uncomplicated pricing model, makes it extremely easy for practically anyone to take their business online, or even altogether establish an all-new online business and that too within days and at a fraction of the cost.

The ‘The Barter Exchange’, on the other hand, allows users to swap items with one another. It is an exchange engagement that can be done publicly or within the confines of private groups or special interest groups. And lastly, the ‘The Plugged In’ pillar completes the trio by allowing website owners to plug their existing websites directly into Nabay.com; thereby expanding their opportunities with a greater level of global exposure and direct access to consumers.

“As we step into the next stage of our growth, though available globally, we are looking forward to focusing our marketing efforts into the Middle East, starting with the UAE. From here we will look towards establishing a strong foothold in KSA and eventually the rest of the Middle East,” said Nabeel Sultan. “We are delighted to be backed by a group as renowned as MHD. Their investment will no doubt provide us with an enhanced strategic and competitive advantage in our endeavours. I am confident that with them beside us, it will only be a matter of time before we realise our full potential as the preeminent eCommerce platform in the region.”

Commenting on the new investment, Mohammed Al Kharusi said, “While eCommerce is still a relatively small part of retail in the Middle East, it is poised for exponential growth in the coming years. As an innovative platform with an already strengthening online presence, Nabay.com is primed to win significant market share in the Middle East. This makes it an ideal partner for the next phase of our journey. Moreover, since its launch in mid-2020, Nabay.com has established itself as a prominent player with a strong, entrepreneurial leadership team whose ideals perfectly align with that of ours at MHD. This investment is in line with our strategy and goal to diversify our business, deepen our connections within the market, as well as create the next wave of retail innovation in the region.”

Mohammed Al Kharusi added, “With this move, and backed by an ever-evolving tech-savvy customer base, incomparable brand equity, and long-standing relationships with top brands and retailers across the Middle East, we will work closely with Nabay.com to advance and redefine the online shopping ecosystem in the region. We are confident that the Nabay.com team’s expertise, combined with their user experience-focused approach, will provide customers with an unmatched shopping experience and set it on a path for unprecedented growth in the near future.”