The population of the Middle East is about 490 million, including a large youth group. The Middle East is rich in oil resources, has extraordinary wealth and strong purchasing power. What are the major cross-border e-commerce platforms in the Middle East? Let’s take a look. (The following rankings are in no particular order)
1. Amazon Middle East Station (Souq)
Founded in 2005, Souq is the largest e-commerce platform in the Middle East. The platform type is B2C and its headquarters is located in Dubai. Some people call it “Amazon of the Middle East”. After being acquired by Amazon, it became a subsidiary of Amazon and was called “Amazon of the Middle East”. Souq has four stations in the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, which need to be settled separately. There are more than 9.5 million unique products on the website, covering 35 different categories, including electronics, household items, baby products, fashion brands, toys, perfumes, etc.
2. Noon.
Noon, the second largest e-commerce platform in the Middle East, was jointly invested by major investors Emaar Real Estate and Saudi Sovereign Fund with a $1 billion investment. Emaar is one of the largest real estate developers in the Middle East. Its real estate projects include the world’s tallest building, the Dubai Tower, and the largest shopping mall, Dubai Mall.
Noon is known as the “first e-commerce platform in the Arab region” and its products cover various fields, including beauty, fashion, electronics, home, kitchen and daily necessities. Buyers can purchase through the e-commerce website or download the APP to make purchases.
3. MEIG.
Founded in 2013, MEIG is a B2C platform and a leading e-commerce group in the Middle East. MEIG’s e-commerce platforms include Wadi, helping, vaniday, easytaxi, lamudi and Carmudi. Wadi is an online market that aims to become the online shopping portal with the widest range of products for the people of the UAE. The main products include baby products, beauty products, consumer electronics, digital accessories (mobile phones, electronic and computer accessories), home appliances, kitchen supplies, mobile phones, personal care products, computers, toys, electronic games (game consoles and games), watches and household items, stationery and men’s and women’s clothing
4. Wadi.
Wadi was founded in 2015 and is affiliated with the Middle East Internet Group (MEIG). MEIG is a joint venture between the German incubator RocketInternet and the South African telecom operator MTN. It owns many Middle Eastern e-commerce companies, among which Wadi is the fastest growing one.