CDC invests $55m in Asia frontier markets online retailer

The company was incubated by Rocket Internet and is part of the company's Asia Pacific Internet Group (APACIG), which has also contributed capital to the round. It started in Pakistan in 2012 as an online fashion business but has since become a general marketplace offering products such as electronics and home appliances as well as fashion.

Daraz will use the new capital - which represents its first major financing round - to consolidate its position in existing markets and for expansion into other frontier markets in Asia.

"We expect our investment to help Daraz create several thousand direct and indirect jobs over the next five years, and play an important role in the professionalization and development of local retail sectors, logistics networks and technology industries," said David Osborne, investment director at CDC, in a statement.

Rocket created the APACIG last year in conjunction with Qatar-based telecom company Ooredoo. It unites 13 companies operating in 15 Southeast Asian markets and includes brands such as: taxi booking app Easy Taxi, real estate classifieds marketplace Lamudi, price comparison engine Next Commerce, and on-demand cleaning services provider Helping.

Rocket has rolled-up other internet assets into stand-alone platforms and sourced third-party growth capital. India's Jabong and Southeast Asia's Zalora are both in the Global Fashion Group, while a host of Asia-based food delivery services were absorbed into the Foodpanda platform.

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• Topics
• Venture
• Expansion
• Southeast Asia
• South Asia
• Consumer
• Technology
• Rocket Internet
• TMT
• Consumer
• Myanmar
• Bangladesh
• Pakistan
• CDC Group
• Growth capital