Regional How are consumers shopping in the omnichannel world? Professor Paul Hopkinson is head of Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University Dubai and academic director for Heriot-Watt... Thought Leadership • 25 August, 2022 E-commerce omnichannel
U.A.E Emaar to sell Namshi to Noon for $335.2 million Dubai real estate developer Emaar will sell its fashion e-commerce platform Namshi to Noon for $335.2 million. Emaar, which is listed... News • 20 August, 2022 Namshi Noon Emaar
Global From nappies to cricket: China’s Alibaba targets South Asia Benjamin Parkin and Farhan Bokhari in Karachi and Ryan McMorrow in Beijing In a vast warehouse on the arid outskirts of Pakistani... Financial Times • 23 June, 2022 Daraz Alibaba
Global Digital delivery transforms trade for Africa’s stallholders By David Pilling Nancy Auma, a 35-year-old market trader, sits by a large mound of finger-sized silvery fish caught in Lake... Financial Times • 30 May, 2022 africa Logistics
Egypt The pain of selling furniture online in Egypt Furniture is one of the oldest and the largest industries in Egypt, employing over 13 per cent of the country's industrial workforce,... Dunya Hassanein • 26 May, 2022 Homzmart furniture marketplace
Global Retailers seek real-world profits in the metaverse By Dave Lee and Hannah Murphy in San Francisco The metaverse branch of the fast-fashion chain Forever 21 is an assault on the... Financial Times • 14 March, 2022 metaverse E-commerce
Egypt The issue of e-pharmacy in Egypt When Amazon acquired US-based e-pharmacy startup PillPack in 2018 in a deal valued at $753 million, it sent repercussions across the... Dunya Hassanein • 20 January, 2022 e-pharmacy B2B marketplace Chefaa
Saudi Arabia Penny pushes into global e-procurement market Procurement remains a largely offline and fragmented endeavour, but over the past couple of years, digital solutions have grown... Dunya Hassanein • 18 January, 2022 B2B e-commerce Penny SAAS
Saudi Arabia Wamda participates in Penny Software's $5 million Seed round Wamda has participated in KSA-based Penny Software's $5 million Seed round, which was led by Outliers Venture Capital, and with... News • 17 January, 2022
Iraq TipTop's $5 million raise and Iraq's quick-commerce expansion The continued pandemic-driven disruptions impacting the e-grocery segment have led to the emergence of q-commerce, a new vertical which has... Dunya Hassanein • 11 January, 2022 tiptop quick commerce q-commerce
Regional A look at last-mile delivery in Mena [Part 1] The final leg of the product shipping journey, defined as last-mile delivery, is the least efficient and costliest part of the product... Dunya Hassanein • 15 December, 2021 Last-mile delivery Last mile Logistics
Pakistan UAE’s Tricap invests in Pakistan's Clicky UAE-based Tricap Investments has participated in the $2.3 million pre-Series A round of the Pakistan-based e-commerce Clicky. Former... News • 08 December, 2021 E-commerce Clicky
Regional Can direct-to-consumer commerce maintain its momentum in Mena? “Swipe up”, an Instagram term that has become so synonymous with online shopping that it is hardly considered an instruction or... Shaimaa El Nazer - Triska Hamid • 03 November, 2021 direct-to-consumer D2C eyewa
U.A.E Zbooni closes $9.5 million Series A round UAE-based Zbooni, a social and conversational commerce platform, has closed a second tranche of $4.5 million to bring its total Series A... News • 28 September, 2021 Zbooni social commerce
Regional Should online retailers pay greater attention to men? Leith Mathews is the founder and CEO of UAE-based rokpool, an online platform dedicated to men’s personal care products. Safe... Thought Leadership • 27 September, 2021 E-commerce
Egypt Cartona completes $4.5 million pre-Series A round led by Global Ventures Egypt-based B2B platform Cartona has raised $4.5 million in a pre-Series A round led by Global Ventures, with participation from Kepple... News • 21 September, 2021 b2b B2B e-commerce Cartona
Iraq Iraq’s Miswag raises $1.6 million pre-Series A Iraq-based B2C marketplace Miswag, has raised $1.6 million in a pre-Series A round. This funding closely follows its six-figure... News • 19 September, 2021 Miswag E-commerce marketplace
Regional Dark stores will create more collaborators than competitors In the absence of physical shopping during last year’s lockdowns, demand for e-commerce soared, most notably in the grocery segment.... Nagham Al Eithan • 12 September, 2021 q-commerce quick commerce
Regional Beauty and the online beast: Driving online sales in the Middle East Nicolas Bruylants is the co-founder and chief visions officer of UAE-based CNNB Solutions, which helps brands to build, operate and scale... Thought Leadership • 22 August, 2021 D2C Beauty
Saudi Arabia Taffi: Democratising personal styling for women in Mena Throughout history, the most powerful tastemakers have been the wealthy, whose way of life is often portrayed as aspirational and an... Nagham Al Eithan • 19 August, 2021 Taffi Online shopping personalisation
U.A.E Opontia: Enabling e-commerce brands to go global The GCC region is one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in the world according to a report from Dubai’s CommerCity, with... Dunya Hassanein • 12 July, 2021 e-commerce enablement E-commerce Opontia
Regional Floral marketplaces: Does the future look rosy? The retail industry across the Middle East has undergone a sea of change, with online purchases becoming a central part of the... Dunya Hassanein • 01 July, 2021 Floranow Floward marketplace
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia’s Tamer Group acquires majority stake in Mumzworld Saudi Arabia’s Tamer Group, a healthcare distributor and logistics company has acquired a majority stake in UAE-based e-commerce... News • 28 June, 2021 acquisition news Mumzworld
U.A.E eyewa closes $21 million Series B UAE-based eyewa has closed its Series B funding round, raising $21 million. The round was co-led by Kingsway and Nuwa Capital, with... News • 27 June, 2021 eyewa series B