The demand-supply imbalance in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has created an opportunity for cross-border e-commerce platforms, with non-MENA-based e-commerce players capturing a significant share of the rising consumer interest in online shopping. As of 2019, cross-border e-commerce represented nearly 50 percent of the market in the GCC vs. less than 13 percent in the UK and 6 percent in the US.

CommerceUp, India-based SaaS (Software as a service) e-commerce platform is now building up its foothold in the Middle East market by starting up its operations in Saudi Arabia and UAE. CommerceUp started serving clients in the United Arab Emirates last year and now is ready with its expansion plan for Saudi Arabia. The company aims to increase its international business and the middle east market is the ideal choice for the company considering its rich economy and its growing internet user base and e-commerce market growth.

A study by Bain & Co, E-commerce was worth $8.3 billion in 2017 in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and is expected to more than triple by 2022 to reach $28.5 billion. MENA is entering the third phase of digital adoption. According to Statista, the e-commerce market in Saudi Arabia is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2020-2025) of 6.6 percent, resulting in a projected market volume of US $8,697m by 2025. While user penetration is expected to hit 92.5 percent by 2025. These figures have encouraged Commerceup to tap into the Saudi Arabia market.

Commerceup as an e-commerce platform has recently launched Arabic language with RTL support for online stores and plans to launch a complete platform in Arabic language to support localization. CommerceUp has integrated a local payment gateway, a logistics provider for easy onboarding of local merchants. Piyush Pathak, CEO, Commerceup said, “Middle East market is becoming an ideal choice for Commerceup as we understand the challenges faced by e-commerce merchants and are working on providing the right technology to support unique business needs in the region. We will be hiring more people and expanding our solution partner network in the region to support our growth plans.”