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Earlier this month, Zameen.com, a leading property portal received a hefty investment from the Singapore based Catcha Group and Frontier Digital Ventures. It is noteworthy that Catcha group is a renowned entrepreneurial corporation that is keen on investing in great ideas. Zameen.com has reportedly sold almost 30% of the company shares. However, this interest is non-controlling so the existing management will retain control. The acquired company will formally launch later this year.
Founded in 2006 by Zeeshan Ali and Imran Ali, the enterprise has worked hard to make it to the top. Things started to finally look up when in 2012, Giles Blanchard became a part of the team. Giles has played a vital role in the success of SeLoger.com, a property portal operational in France. With Giles as the chairman at Zameen.com, the website quickly achieved success and has come to dominate the online property websites in Pakistan. Other property portals like Lamudi.pk and PakistanRealEstate.net are following behind.
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In April, 2014 Zameen.com launched its official monthly magazine that brings together exclusive content for the property buyers and sellers. Over the years, the founders have focused on developing other value-added products to the property portal. Perhaps it is this temperament for innovation which attracted the funding. The new board members definitely seem to be of the same opinion. Shaun Di Gregoria, the new board member, pointed out that Zameen.com was an ideal online business to invest in and with the help of Frontier, it could see better growth.
The investment is certainly a good news for Pakistanis as it means that the foreign firms are finally looking towards the country to invest and utilize the countless opportunities that Pakistan represents as a developing nation.
“The deal is extremely significant as it is the first major investment by a foreign conglomerate in Pakistan through a local organization.” – Zeeshan Ali, co-founder Zameen.com
Already groups like Rocket Internet are investing heavily in various ventures in Pakistan. With the current rate of growth in startups, such investments can help businesses significantly and can help the eCommerce industry grow.
Source: Tribune
