Rocket Internet’s ecommerce marketplace for Middle East raises $67m in series A funding

Photo Credit Serge Kij

The Middle East Internet Group (MEIG), a joint venture of Rocket Internet and South African telecommunications giant MTN, announced today that its ecommerce portal Wadi has secured US$67 million in series A funding. The round was led by Saudi Arabian-headquartered Al Tayyar Travel Group.

Wadi, which operates in both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, launched operations in 2015 and claims to offer an assortment of over 150,000 products. It operates on a managed marketplace model, similar to Rocket’s other ecommerce portals such as Daraz and Shop.

Dr Eyad Alkassar, managing director of MEIG, told Tech in Asia that part of the cash will be earmarked for further expansion in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as well as consolidating operations and customer service. However, he declined to give specific details or discuss post-money valuation figures.

The lead investor, Al Tayyar Travel Group, said in an emailed statement that it will be providing cargo, logistics, and fulfilment support for Wadi. Al Tayyar Travel Group is also a major investor in online taxi startup Careem, which recently raised US$60 million to entrench its presence across the Middle East and Pakistan.

“With this investment, the Al Tayyar Travel Group covers the three largest and most promising areas in the online space: travel, general merchandise, and the shared economy,” said Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Dawood, CEO of Al Tayyar.

MEIG was founded in 2013 to accelerate the growth of web businesses across the Middle East. It currently operates Wadi, Helpling, Vaniday, Easytaxi, Lamudi, and Carmudi.