Mini Exchange, the online marketplace for everything mums and kids today announced the close of a USD3m fundraising round to drive the next stages of their impressive regional growth.
Recently awarded the ‘Online Business of the Year’ accolade at Gulf Capital SME Awards, the tech-led startup will now launch an app in English & Arabic, and focus on expansion into new markets to better serve their growing customer base.
The oversubscribed funding round closed in just over three months, with 100% resubscription from all seed round shareholders and new strategic investment from the Middle East and Africa.
Top of the agenda to facilitate Mini Exchange’s expansion is hiring leading global talent; experts in their field to drive the business forward and become an e-commerce powerhouse, with excellent customer service and the widest selection of lifestyle brands at its core.
Their decision to launch an app at this time could also be considered a wise move, given the huge potential for mobile commerce in this region.
According to the Centre of Retail Research, digital retail is expected to account for 21.5% of all global sales by 2018. This figure combined with the high penetration rate of tablets and smartphones, underpins Mini Exchange’s vision of becoming a multilingual ‘smart shop system’ whether you’re at home or on–the-go.
Launching in tandem is their planned expansion into Kuwait and Qatar, allowing customers access to its growing range of 850 brands and 44,000 products.
Since its inception in 2014, Mini Exchange has continually pushed the boundaries with its rapid development and growth, seeing its small team go from four people to 24 in the last 12 months alone.
It is this fearless approach, which has seen Mini Exchange evolve from an exchange platform for parents to buy and sell, to a fully functioning e-commerce website in two years. Occurring quietly under the radar, their agility and speed at making these changes, along with smart partnerships have allowed Mini Exchange to flourish and carve out their niche offering.
Expect a more expansive direction, shoppable content and exciting new technological developments in 2017, with their ambition for further market domination well within aim.