Mumzworld, the first and largest online shopping platform in the Middle East for mothers, baby and child has announced that it has signed a sales and purchase agreement with Saudi-based logistic and health care distributor, Tamer Group.
Mumzworld, founded in 2011 by Ms. Mona Ataya and Ms. Leena Khalil, was the first female-led e-commerce business serving mothers in the Middle East and claim to have grown 10 times in the last five years.
It had raised $50 million in capital till now, with Wamda as one of its investors. It has a community of 2.5 million women in 20 countries in the region, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia as two of its most important markets. Mumzworld now has over 250,000 goods from over 5500 manufacturers.
Speaking about the deal Ms. Ataya said that “the choice to partner with a regional player is a deliberate one, as it allows the company to continue to grow in key regional markets and expand its digital footprint.”
“We are intent on digitizing the regional ecosystem, particularly in Saudi Arabia. With Tamer Group’s scale, size, reputation and regional know-how our combined complementary entity will be transformative for the region,” added Ms. Ataya.
Competition among the online retail sector focused on mothers and children has intensified over the past few years with the emergence of Softbank-backed India-based Firstcry.com as well as regional players like noon.com. Firstcry.com was said to be worth over $2.1 billion during a funding round earlier this year.
Since the epidemic, the regional e-commerce business has grown significantly. In 2017, online shopping accounted for only 2 percent of the MENA retail market, worth $8.3 billion. By the end of 2020, the e-commerce sector had grown to a value of $22 billion, with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt contributing for 80 percent of the region’s overall e-commerce market.
Mr. Ayman Tamer, Chairman of Tamer Group commented on the collaboration, “We believe that e-commerce is the future for the GCC. The world has evolved to a customer-centric approach, with consumer behavior, trends, and data emerging as the new gold. Mumzworld will act as a stepping stone to ‘Tamer Digital’ a highly ambitious vertical we plan to establish to serve the country and help fulfill Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.”
With annual revenues of $2.5 billion, Tamer Group is a large regional health care distributor that includes consumer and nutrition divisions as well as logistics services.
