Souq.com's CEO on Building an E-Commerce Powerhouse in the Middle East

Souq.com's chief executive officer describes the circumstances leading up to the company's development. They used Yahoo! and other mainstream web portals as models, and ensured that users did not have to be fluent in English. From there, they created a commerce-only site separate from the initial auction site expressly for users who wished to make purchases (souq is Arabic for 'market'). By observing Amazon.com, they focused on connecting customers with merchants and closed the auction site. Couriers and sorting centers are used to enable customers to pay in cash. Souq.com also brought onboard investors from other countries, as local venture funds tended to focus on other types of businesses. Today Souq.com has 3,000 employees and is being acquired by Amazon.