JadoPado sells $4m stake to Beco Capital

JadoPado, an online selling platform, has announced that it has sold a $4 million (Dh14.69m) stake to an investor consortium led by Beco Capital, a regional venture capital firm, valuing the business at Dh102 million ($28 million).

The online platform allows sellers to set up a storefront on the portal, and it claims that products worth Dh1bn ($272 million) from 2,500 sellers are available on the site.

The firm said in a media statement that the investment will be used to accelerate the company’s growth and expand its services across the Middle East and other emerging markets.

The e-commerce market in the region is nascent but growing exponentially. Rising internet and mobile phone penetration over the last five years continues to change the way businesses reach their customers.

With a current investment portfolio including stakes in Propertyfinder and Careem, Beco Capital focuses on technology start-ups. The move is Beco’s first investment in a marketplace platform.

“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,” said Omar Kassim, CEO, JadoPado.