LAHORE – Pakistan’s online marketplace giant, Daraz Group, announced on Tuesday that the company was fully acquired by Alibaba Group, a China-based multinational e-commerce marketplace.
Daraz was founded in 2012 by Rocket Internet in Pakistan and operates online marketplaces in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal as well.
Daraz after the acquisition will be able to take advantage of Alibaba’s leadership and experience in technology, online commerce, mobile payment and logistics to drive further growth in the five South Asian markets that have a combined population of over 460 million, 60% of which are under the age of 35.
Daraz will continue to operate under the same brand.
The deal is the second time Alibaba has bought a Rocket company, the first being Lazada in Southeast Asia two years ago.
“With this transaction, Daraz has found its natural home in the Alibaba family, and we are proud to carry our part of the mission to ‘make it easy to do business anywhere’. With hard work and dedication, we have started the e-commerce journey in our markets, but we have still only scratched the surface of the potential,” said Co-CEO, Daraz, Bjarke Mikkelsen.
“Together with Alibaba, we are ready to empower entrepreneurs in the region and to fulfil our promise to offer our customers the best selection of products with a high level of convenience. All of this would be supported by a best-in-class technology platform, a strong logistics network, and a vibrant community of ecosystem participants,” added Co-CEO, Daraz Jonathan Doerr.
“We are excited for Daraz to become a part of the Alibaba ecosystem. 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,” said Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group in a press release.
