China’s e-commerce giant, Alibaba has made its entry into Pakistan by acquiring one of the country’s biggest e-commerce companies, the Daraz Group.
According to a PTI report: With the acquisition, the Jack Ma-led group has also expanded in four other South Asian markets Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal, where Daraz has its presence.
This is said to be the first ever investment by Alibaba in Pakistan. However, no figures were provided either by Daraz or Alibaba.
According to a press release issued by Daraz, they will leverage Alibaba’s leadership and experience in technology, online commerce, mobile payments and logistics to drive further growth in five South Asian markets.
Founded in 2012 in Pakistan, the Daraz Group has expanded to Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal and had been serving a combined population of over 460 million, 60 percent of which are under the age of 35.
It will continue to operate under the same brand, the release said.
Hailing the move, Daraz Co-CEOs Bjarke Mikkelsen and Jonathan Doerr said that there is still a long way to go on the e-commerce journey.
CEO of Alibaba Group, Daniel Zhang said in the release: “Together with Daraz, we can now empower entrepreneurs to better serve consumers in the region through our technology and expertise.
“In Daraz, we found a great team that espouses our values and believes that a technology-enabled commerce ecosystem will play a critical role in driving the long term economic development in South Asia.”
The Alibaba Group had last year signed a memorandum of understanding with Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce to enter into its market.
