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More than AED 1 billion in products available for sale on the platform
Dubai, UAE - JadoPado, a global marketplace platform, announced that it has sold a significant minority stake to an investor consortium led by BECO Capital, a regional venture capital firm focused on technology investments in the GCC, valuing the business at AED 102 million ($28 million).
JadoPado allows sellers from around the world to set up a store in a few minutes and start selling their products to a global audience. Featuring JadoPado's industry leading design and user experience, buyers and sellers can trade new, used and refurbished products. Over 2500 sellers from around the world have signed up to sell with the platform, while AED 1 billion ($272 million) worth of products are available to buyers. Traffic has tripled over the same period.
The investment of AED 14.69 million ($4 million) will be used to accelerate the company's growth and expand its services across the Middle East and other emerging markets. "JadoPado has seen exponential growth since re-positioning as a marketplace platform earlier this year," said Omar Kassim, JadoPado's CEO. "BECO Capital's investment is indicative of our strong market positioning and we're incredibly excited to bring them on as our partners in revolutionising commerce in emerging markets."
With a current investment portfolio including stakes in Propertyfinder and Careem, BECO Capital, focuses exclusively on supporting technology startups in promising sectors. Dany Farha, CEO of BECO Capital, said: "We are thrilled with the progress and the rate at which Omar and his team have grown their offering. With the increase in consumer traffic and merchant acquisition, JadoPado is changing how businesses in the region are selling to consumers and how consumers are buying products and services. JadoPado has created a disruptive marketplace that will bring about a dramatic transformation in the sector. It has an incredibly strong and scalable platform, and offers an efficient solution to reach customers in rapidly growing e-commerce markets. We are delighted to partner with the team, and look forward to working with them and fully backing them to accelerate their growth in building a leading marketplace for the future."
"Online behaviour in the Middle East continues to evolve rapidly and consumers are making more astute choices when it comes to shopping online. We're seeing steady growth in brick and mortar retailers looking to add an e-commerce channel and trying to figure out how to turn themselves into omni-channel retailers. We see JadoPado as an important part of that mix, allowing retailers to go to market quickly and test the waters before they throw millions of dollars towards change," said Omar Kassim.
The move marks BECO Capital's first investment in a marketplace platform and couldn't be better timed. The e-commerce market in the region is nascent, but is growing exponentially as it continues to take share away from traditional retail. Rising internet and mobile phone penetration over the last five years continues to fundamentally alter the way businesses reach their customers across the region. In 2015, internet users will rise to over 50% of Middle East's population and the region's two largest e-commerce markets, UAE & Saudi Arabia, each having grown on average 40% year on year since 2009, are projected to cross $7 billion in value, highlighting the fast growing appetite for online spending. JadoPado aims to play a vital role by creating market entry opportunities for both regional and international sellers looking to invest in the sector.
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About JadoPado
JadoPado is a marketplace where people around the world come together to buy and sell great stuff!
JadoPado lets you sell new, used and refurbished products directly to buyers. Sellers handle their own stores including products, offers, orders and fulfilment, while making sure everything looks great! JadoPado gives buyers incredible choice across a wide range of categories and an easy to use, secure experience. JadoPado handles payments on behalf of sellers and pays them out after you've received your purchase.
For more information please contact:
Karlo Alfredo, ka@jadopado.com, Preeti Chhatbar, preeti.chhatbar@grayling.com or Andrew Kennedy, andrew.kennedy@grayling.com.
Follow us on Twitter @JadoPado
About BECO Capital
BECO Capital is a Venture Capital firm that provides early stage growth capital and hands-on operational support for technology companies in the MENA region with a focus on the GCC. Founded in 2012, BECO Capital is led by a team that enjoys a solid and diverse track record across the venture capital, technology, entrepreneurial and financial sectors.
The Firm is a hands-on partner that assists its portfolio companies to expand to new markets across the GCC, acquire key talent, implement operational improvements, adopt corporate governance practices and raise growth funds. BECO Capital also offers follow-on funding to its portfolio companies and helps line-up large regional investors and global Venture Capital firms for the future much larger follow-on fundraising rounds.
For more information, please visit www.becocapital.com
You can also follow Dany Farha, CEO of BECO Capital on twitter: @danyfarha
You can follow Amir Farha, Managing Partner at BECO Capital on twitter: @afarha Amir Farha writes on boostmena.com
Issued by Borouj Consulting on behalf of BECO Capital. For more information, please contact: Randa Mazzawi randa@boroujconsulting.com or Mayssa Makhlouf mayssa@boroujconsulting.com or call +97143403005 Follow us on Twitter @Borouj
© Press Release 2015
