Ronaldo Mouchawar launched the e-commerce website Souq.com in 2005 and quickly built the startup into one of the Middle East's most recognized online retailers. Last week, in an agreement the Financial Times he said “will shake up the region's small but fast-growing e-commerce sector,” Amazon agreed to acquire Mouchawar's company for at least $650 million.
Mouchawar, who earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Northeastern, spent the early part of his career working in the US in technology, business administration and engineering positions. But the Syrian native felt drawn to the Middle East—not only for the business opportunities he saw there, but also for the prospect of improving life in the region.
“[The Arab world] it's full of startups and SMBs, but there was no e-commerce platform to connect those businesses,” said Mouchawar, E'88, ME'90. Northeastern Magazine this past fall. “We knew that building one would be a huge challenge, but that it could improve the lives of people in the area.”
Innovation in the “last mile” of logistics
For Mouchawar's startup to succeed, it had to overcome barriers unique to the region in key areas such as payment and delivery.
“Being an entrepreneur is not only about managing success, but how you face the next challenge,” Mouchawar said.
To address these challenges, Souq offered alternative payment options to serve customers in regions where credit card usage is rare. The company created prepaid cards that could be sold in physical stores and then used to make purchases on the website. He also developed logistical strategies to deliver goods to customers in communities without postal addresses.
Giving hope to a region
Today, Souq is the largest e-commerce platform in the Arab world, attracting more than 45 million unique visits per month. Valued at more than $1 billion, the site has local operations in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Egypt and ships to Bahrain, Oman and Qatar.
Beyond its own success, Mouchawar's company has helped build an entrepreneurial ecosystem across the Middle East by investing in other startups and creating a platform through which startups can develop and distribute products.
Says Mouchawar, “The success of Souq.com has given hope to many people living in our area.”
