The Chinese internet giant, Alibaba acquired Daraz in an undisclosed deal thereby expanding its e-commerce sway in the South Asian territory. Daraz was founded in the year 2012 AD by Rocket Internet and currently runs in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. This is the second time, Alibaba has bought a Rocket Internet Company. Before Daraz, the company had acquired Lazada in Southeast Asia.
Rumors over the acquisition of Daraz by Alibaba had already spread on the internet (see Bloomberg’s article on the acquisition of Pakistan unit of Rocket Internet by Alibaba). The company previously backed Paytm from India and similarly Lazada from Southeast Asia. Daraz acquired by Alibaba, may be the part of company’s approach to making a tight grip in the South Asian internet and e-commerce market.
This acquisition is also believed to aid Daraz, providing it with the resources so as to grow in South Asia which has the aggregate population of nearly over 460 million, 60% of which are aged with 35 years.
Some officials of Daraz as well as Alibaba also quoted regarding the transaction of Alibaba with Daraz, given below:
- Bjarke Mikkelsen, Co-CEO, Daraz said, “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.”
- Dr. Jonathan Doerr, Co-CEO, Daraz added, “Together with Alibaba, we are ready to empower entrepreneurs in the region and to fulfill 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.”
- Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group, said, “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.”
Again, this acquisition of the company follows a fintech investment via Alibaba affiliate, Ant Financial which runs Alipay and different other financial services of Alibaba.
Rumors suggest that Alibaba is also looking forward to Bangladesh. Bangladesh has a population of around 160 million and the number of people using the internet is also in rise.
Thus, it’s certain that the company is looking forward to penetrating the South Asian Internet market and make a visible mark.
Also, don’t forget to comment your thoughts about Alibaba and their acquisition over Daraz.
