DRIVEN by rapid gains in smartphone use and people’s willingness to try new things in Myanmar, Alibaba Group plans to grow its business by at least five times in the country in the coming six to eight months, according to Frans Maas, managing director of Shop.com.mm, which is now under the fold of the Chinese […]
Alibaba buys Rocket Internet’s Daraz to expand its e-commerce empire into South Asia
May 11, 2018 by
Alibaba has expanded its e-commerce empire into South Asia after the Chinese internet giant acquired Daraz in an undisclosed deal. Daraz was founded in 2012 by Rocket Internet and today it operates in Pakistan as well as Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Rocket said in a statement that Alibaba has acquired the entire Daraz […]
Myanmar sees rare series A investment as startups finally take off
February 22, 2017 by
Ever since Myanmar opened up its economy following one of Asia’s most brutal dictatorships in 2010, everything from politics to culture and business in the once-isolated nation has radically changed. From being virtually off-grid, Myanmar has seen mobile usage rocket. This largely untapped market of 60 million people has caught the interest of entrepreneurs and […]
Black Friday : e-commerce sales taking off in Myanmar
November 23, 2016 by
Shop.com.mm, Myanmar’s largest e-commerce platform, are providing access to substantial discounts and unmatched variety for their Black Friday Sale, November 25th-27th. Black Friday Sales traditionally take place on the Friday after Thanksgiving (late November) in North America and have come to be one of the largest shopping days of the year. It was not uncommon […]
Jovago Seeks Local Partner Hotels in Chin State
February 26, 2016 by
Online hotel booking site Jovago, backed by Rocket Internet and Ooredoo, said it is looking for partner hotels in Chin state as the northwestern state attracts increasing number of visitors. “Our ambition is to propose hotels everywhere in Myanmar, even in the most remote zones. Chin state is one of them – a very beautiful […]
Rocket Internet eyes Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan markets
November 17, 2015 by
Rocket Internet, the German startup-builder, has big plans for Asia. Its Asia Pacific wing – a joint venture with Qatari telecom company Ooreedo – plans to launch at least one new company per quarter in the region. Next up on Rocket’s agenda are countries not typically considered to be hotbeds for online startups: Bangladesh and […]
Myanmar businesses slow to adapt to improvements in Internet
October 28, 2015 by
Our study of the Myanmar industry shows that Myanmar businesses are still lagging behind in the use of Internet technology. We studied 72 audit/accounting firms and 44 law firms in Yangon and were flabbergasted to find that 93% and 68% respectively do not have websites and 70% of them are still using Gmail. Our study […]
Online Retailer Daraz Raises €50 Million
October 5, 2015 by
Daraz, an online retailer in Asian frontier markets, has secured €50 million ($55.9 million) in its first major financing round. The investment comes from the CDC Group – the UK Government’s Development Finance Institution (DFI) focused on supporting and developing businesses in Africa and South Asia – as well as Daraz’s existing investor Asia Pacific […]
