Dubai, UAE: 21 December, 2014: iMENA Group, the leading operator of online and mobile businesses for consumers and enterprises in the high-growth, under-served market of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has announced significant growth in 2014. The Group’s total revenues soared 265% year-on-year, driven by geographical expansions, along with the launch of new business lines and strong consumer demand that grew by 146% over the course of a 12 month period. Quarter on quarter, iMENA’s revenues grow by 2.1x in the first quarter, 2.8x in the second quarter, and a whooping 4.4x in the 3rd quarter of 2014, compared with the same quarters in 2013.
In 2014, iMENA announced a new partnership with Telr, a UAE and Singapore based online financing and payments services provider, which joined iMENA Group in September. This came in addition to the internal build-ups of two new businesses; iMENA Digital, a B2B professional services company focused on digital strategy, technology, marketing and operations, and iMENA Loyalty, an operator and developer of performance based marketing and loyalty platforms and technologies.
In addition to robust financial growth, the group’s team grew by 87% to meet the demands of its growing online businesses, further demonstrating the opportunities presented by the hyper-growth era of online consumer and enterprise market in MENA.
By the end of 2014, iMENA Group businesses spanned ten countries, with regional hubs for the Group’s management team in UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.
Commenting on iMENA Group’s growth, Adey Salamin, Founder & CEO said: “With more than 150 million Internet users in the MENA region[1] there is huge potential for business. Our group witnessed remarkable growth throughout the year in the online classifieds, marketplace and enablement industries while creating over 340 jobs within the group and in less than 2 years since launch.”
With a total of nine businesses under its umbrella, iMENA’s companies achieved exceptional growth and regional recognition for their performance. At the last Arabian Business Awards, iMENA’s newest member, Telr, was named “Startup of the Year”.
SellAny.com, an automotive online marketplace monetized 25% of its target population in the UAE within one year. The company was crowned “Digital Business of the Year” by Arabian business, and “Fastest Growing Company” by Entrepreneur Magazine. The company’s founder, Saygin Yalcin, also made “Fortune’s 40 Under 40 List” in Turkey.
Locally grown online classifieds platform, OpenSooq, became the region’s top leader in mobile classifieds with more than 2.5 million app downloads, beating all internationally-backed classifieds companies in MENA.
Reserveout, an online platform designed to enable diners to search, view, and immediately reserve at selected restaurants, saw an 88% increase in the number of diners seated, while its founder, Khalil Shadid, was selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur.
HelloFood, an online food ordering service and Easy Taxi, a taxi booking app, both saw success in the Saudi market. Hellofood became the number 1 food platform in the Kingdom whilst Easy Taxi witnessed a jarring 26,598% increase in rides.
Founder and Managing Director, Khaldoon Tabaza, concluded: “We expect 2015 to bring new additions to our group, and the closing of a fundraising round, not to mention strategic partnerships with online business and technology leaders. We are very enthusiastic about the future, as we continue to capitalize on the online consumer market opportunity and push forward towards becoming MENA’s Internet leader.