Noon, the online shopping platform, will launch in Saudi Arabia before the end of this year, the company confirmed on Thursday.
Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, Faraz Khalid, Noon’s chief executive officer, said that the Middle East and North Africa, and specifically the GCC region, has the perfect environment for growth in e-commerce.
The CEO said that Noon is working with large Saudi retailers as well as small and medium enterprises, and start-ups.
“While online sales are just 2 per cent of the total retail in the Middle East, the market is fast evolving. An AT Kearney report states that online shopping will grow from $5.3 billion in 2015 to $20 billion by 2020,” Khalid said.
He added that a high youth population and high levels of internet and smartphone penetration are the drivers of growth for the e-commerce market in the region.
Noon launched earlier this month in the UAE, and has an initial capital outlay of $1 billion by the Public Investment Fund and other Gulf investors. It was created by Emaar founder Mohammad Alabbar, and is backed by investors that include Kuwait’s M.H. Alshaya & Co.