We have seen how the different e-commerce platforms around the world are getting funded and making it big in the market. Also, we have seen that various startups are being launched due to the growing e-commerce market. While the chances of getting success in e-commerce are still limited, they are much better than in retail where the chances for newcomers to grow are extremely limited. For this reason, we are seeing new e-commerce startups pop-up and here is one more example of the same.
Today, we are going to take you to the Middle East where Muscat-based startup, which is a city in Oman which is just a few hours drive from Dubai, has announced raising a seed round of funding of $1 million. This e-commerce platform is known as MarkeetEx and has already been operating in Oman from few years. Also, the funding is not recent but the company decided to announce it right now for some reason. As per MarkeetEx’s official announcement, the investors were from Oman and the United States who have been kept private.
As far as MarkeetEx is concerned, we should also know about how the platform works and what it offers extra to the people of Oman. So the first thing that we have learnt is that the platform offers a two-hour delivery service in Muscat which is the capital of Oman. Now, this is possible for them due to their own last-mile delivery fleet and also a “centrally located” warehouse. However, the company offers delivery to the rest of Oman within 2 to 3 business days which is close to what Amazon offers.
Note that Amazon is present in the UAE, including Oman too, but they have certain requirements. Amazon offers free delivery on orders above $54 whereas MarkeetEx offers free delivery on orders above $13 which is quite a difference.
