Dubai, June 20, 2011: MIH Internet, a wholly-owned division of the South Africa headquartered media group Naspers Ltd, has announced a new strategic partnership with the region’s leading online classifieds and community website Dubizzle.com. Having worked together on a number of previous projects–including the roll out of Dubizzle.com across 14 countries in MENA–the management at MIH Internet have confirmed that their latest investment in Dubizzle is the first step in developing a more robust network of media ventures across the region.
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Russell Dreisenstock, GM of Business Development at MIH Internet, commented that the investment in Dubizzle.com perfectly illustrates the MIH Internet thesis of investing in strong management teams that have demonstrated effective execution capability based on a sound understanding of their business model as well as local market conditions and requirements. “Having watched Dubizzle develop over the years into a classifieds platform that competes globally in terms of technology and features, made our investment decision very easy. We see Dubizzle as an exciting example of what this region has to offer and look forward to future projects with as much potential.”
As a sign of the group’s commitment to the MENA region, MIH Internet will also be establishing a new hub office in Dubai, UAE.
“MIH Internet’s extensive knowledge of media and technology industries, as well as their experience in emerging markets, has made them a potentially ideal partner for organizations in the Middle East,” said Sim Whatley, co-founder of Dubizzle.com. “Dubizzle’s own alliance with MIH Internet has been instrumental in turning our creative ideas into thriving business platforms.”
Dubizzle continues to thrive in their new markets growing month on month and seeing significant traction. Having recently launched their mobile site there is much excitement with where this platform is heading.
Many Naspers / MIH Internet businesses–such as Tencent, Mail.Ru and Allegro–hold leading market positions in their respective territories. The media group’s most significant operations are located in emerging markets including South Africa and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, China, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and India.
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About Naspers
Naspers is a leading multinational media group, incorporated in 1915 as a public limited liability company and listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in September 1994. The company also has an ADR listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
Over the past two decades the group has evolved from a traditional print media business in one country, to a broad-based e-media company in multiple markets.
The group’s principal operations are in internet platforms (focussing on commerce, communities, content, communication and games), pay-television and the provision of related technologies and print media (including publishing, distribution and printing of magazines, newspapers and books). Most of Naspers’s businesses hold leading market positions.
The group’s most significant operations are located in emerging markets. This includes South Africa and the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa, China, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and India.
About Dubizzle.com
Dubizzle is a leading free classifieds and community website for users in the Middle East and North Africa. Since its launch in 2005, Dubizzle has become the number one portal for users to buy, sell, or find anything in their community. Dubizzle is headquartered in the UAE, and is available in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates. Dubizzle is accessed by over 1 million unique visitors with more than 70 million page views on a monthly basis. For more information and to access the website, please visit www.dubizzle.com.
For further information, please contact:
Russell Dreisenstock
MIH Internet Africa, Middle East, South East Asia & India
+0027 824654492/+002721 4689214689176
rad@mihinternet.com
Gunjan Chaurasia / Ayesha Karumbaya
Memac Ogilvy Public Relations, Dubai
+971 4 3050 377 / +971 4 3050 325
gunjan.chaurasia@ogivly.com / ayesha.karumbaya@ogilvy.com
© Press Release 2011
