Middle East online retailer Souq gets US$275m funding boost

Dubai

SOUQ.COM, an online retailer based in the United Arab Emirates, said on Monday that it had raised US$275 million from international investors. It was a vote of confidence for digital commerce in the Middle East, which has made little headway compared with elsewhere.

Souq, the largest e-commerce company in the Middle East, was founded in 2005 on an eBay-like online auction model, but it subsequently evolved into more of an Amazon-style set-price retailer. It has been a rare success story in a region where online businesses face logistical problems, political challenges, stifling bureaucracy and regulations that vary greatly from country to country.