Souq raises an additional $75m from Nasper's

Now in its ninth year, Souq.com is getting some real wind in its sails. Now undeniably the largest e-commerce platform in the Middle East and North Africa, the company has secured $75 million USD (AED 275.5m) from Nasper's Limited, the South African multinational media and internet group that preivously invested $40 milion in Souq in 2012.

This brings the total amount of investment raised by Souq.com to $150 million USD (AED 551m) to date, placing it beyond rivals Namshi and MarkaVIP in terms of capital raised; rumors place Souq's valuation at over $400 million. The move continues the trend of e-commerce companies primarily raising capital from external investors, but demonstrates that Nasper's is betting on Souq in the long term.

Today, Souq.com boasts 23 million visits per month on its website, and 6.2 million registered users, and it's grown 10 fold in the past two years, such that 52% percent of all shoppers in the UAE have shopped on Souq.com. Although around 90% of online transactions in the Middle East and North Africa are still conducted on sites external to the region, according to PayPal, it's clear that Souq hopes to reverse that trend in a market that will reach an estimated $15 billion by 2015.