JadoPado, a global marketplace platform, has sold a significant minority stake to an investor consortium led by Beco Capital, a regional venture capital firm, valuing the business at Dh102 million ($28 million).

The investment of Dh14.69 million ($4 million) will be used to accelerate the company’s growth and expand its services across the Middle East and other emerging markets.

"JadoPado has seen exponential growth since re-positioning as a marketplace platform earlier this year," said Omar Kassim, JadoPado's CEO. "Beco Capital's investment is indicative of our strong market positioning and we're incredibly excited to bring them on as our partners in revolutionising commerce in emerging markets."

With a current investment portfolio including stakes in Propertyfinder and Careem, Beco Capital, focuses exclusively on supporting technology start-ups in promising sectors.

Dany Farha, CEO of Beco Capital, said: "We are thrilled with the progress and the rate at which Omar and his team have grown their offering. With the increase in consumer traffic and merchant acquisition, JadoPado is changing how businesses in the region are selling to consumers and how consumers are buying products and services.”

“JadoPado has created a disruptive marketplace that will bring about a dramatic transformation in the sector. It has an incredibly strong and scalable platform, and offers an efficient solution to reach customers in rapidly growing e-commerce markets. We are delighted to partner with the team, and look forward to working with them and fully backing them to accelerate their growth in building a leading marketplace for the future,” Farha added.

"Online behaviour in the Middle East continues to evolve rapidly and consumers are making more astute choices when it comes to shopping online. We're seeing steady growth in brick and mortar retailers looking to add an e-commerce channel and trying to figure out how to turn themselves into omni-channel retailers. We see JadoPado as an important part of that mix, allowing retailers to go to market quickly and test the waters before they throw millions of dollars towards change," said Kassim. – TradeArabia News Service