In February, Ant Financial, the financial services arm of Alibaba Group, invested US$200 million in Indian food delivery firm Zomato Media Private Ltd. And in January, Alibaba reportedly invested US$100 million in Indian logistics company XpressBees in exchange for a significant minority stake.
“We are excited for Daraz to become a part of the Alibaba ecosystem,” said Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang in a statement. “Together with Daraz, we can now empower entrepreneurs to better serve consumers in the region through our technology and expertise.”
Daraz was founded in 2012 and has become a leading e-commerce company in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Nepal. It has 30,000 sellers and 500 brands on its platform, with 2 million products available to 5 million customers, the company said. Daraz product offerings include consumer electronics, household goods, beauty, fashion, sports equipment and groceries. It also offers multiple payment options, including cash-on-delivery.
Daraz said its acquisition by Alibaba would help drive further growth in its key markets, home to 460 million people, 60% of them under the age of 35.
