Mobily Ventures invests in Saudi ecommerce store Dokkan Afkar
Mobily Ventures invests in Saudi ecommerce store Dokkan Afkar
This is the fourth investment made by Mobily
Ventures in six months.
Having first invested in
Lebanese music streaming service Anghami, followed by mobile taxi
service Easy Taxi, and
online food delivery platform Hellofood,
Mobily Ventures is embracing 2015 by investing for the first time
in a Saudi startup, ecommerce store Dokkan
Afkar.
Ammar Waganah, CEO and cofounder of Dokkan
Afkar, describes
the site as a “more than just an ecommerce website. We aim to
become a home for creative people who have ideas for products that
can add to people’s lives. Our vision is to help these ideas see
the light and contribute to the community.”
Launched in June 2013, Dokkan Afkar
(which means ‘shop of ideas’ in Arabic) targets
Saudi youngsters through a variety of products that mainly come
from local suppliers. The platform also sources global companies to
find the latest gadgets, home decor, and culturally inspired
products to offer its users.
“The investment of Mobily Ventures is strategic
to our growth plans in 2015 and beyond. We are going to expand our
business to become the creative hub for products in the GCC,” says
Waganah optimistically in a press release announcing the
deal.
The company was listed as one of Arabnet’s 10
Favorite Startups of 2013, and named as one of the ‘Hottest Middle
Eastern Startups’ by Inc. magazine in October of last
year.
When it first launched last year in
Riyadh, Mobily
Ventures announced that it
would invest between $300,000 and $3
million in early- and growth-stage companies in
the information and communication technology industries.
Mobily Ventures is the the venture capital arm
of UAE-based telecom conglomerate, Etihad Etisalat, officially
known under the brand name Mobily. The second mobile service
provider in the Kingdom, Mobily was listed
on Saudi’s stock exchange Tadawul in December 2004 an initial
public offering (IPO) which was 51 times oversubscribed. Today,
Mobily is considered as the fastest growing communications and
technology provider in Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Karl-Michael Henneking, Chairman of the
Board of Mobily Ventures is optimistic about the deal and the
future of the Saudi ecosystem: “We expect the Saudi ecommerce
market to develop at a fast pace. With our investment in Dokkan
Afkar we demonstrate Mobily’s strong commitment to finance and
support young, talented Saudi entrepreneurs and contribute to the
development of the local startup ecosystem.”
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