Search in MENA continues to build the ‘Alibaba of the Middle East' through joint venture with multi-national database Kompass

• New partnership set to change Middle East’s B2B ecosystem
• Bridging GCC and India’s economies to connect with the rest of the world

Dubai, UAE, December 7, 2016:  Search in MENA, the B2B marketplace which connects regional businesses with international clients, and the first business that Dubai Silicon Oasis - Dubai Government has invested in, has announced that it has entered into a joint venture with Kompass International, the worldwide B2B database. The new partnership was made official at the companies’ first instalment of their jointly-held networking event, B2B Meeting Events, which took place recently at the Burj Al Arab, Dubai. 

The new venture is part of Search in MENA’s strategy to establish an integrated B2B ecosystem in the region as it builds an ‘Alibaba for the Middle East’, connecting it with the rest of the world. The partnership will harness Kompass’ extensive ‘glocal’ (global + local) network, with its comprehensive database of over 12 million companies, which spans five continents and 66 countries, and is translated into 26 languages. 

In line with the UAE government’s strategy to create a culture of innovation within the emirates, Search in MENA aims to nurture entrepreneurialism and support regional SMEs through the crucial stages of their development. The SearchinMENA.com platform tackles four core issues faced by SMEs: discovery, workflow, data management and price transparency. In addition, Search in MENA and Kompass International will be continuing the B2B Meeting Events series with regular events in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah, designed to support SMEs to expand their operations and reach more customers. 

“SMEs are vital to the UAE’s ongoing strategy, and will play an important role in driving the country’s growth, developing a diversified economy, and creating strong ties with other international economies,” said Communication Technology Engineer Salim Akil, CEO at Search in MENA. “As part of our mission to link the region’s businesses with the rest of the world, we are dedicated to facilitating the activities of entrepreneurs and SMEs as they reach out to clients and make new connections with business partners across the planet.” 

Today, Kompass International is a 100% digital company that has acquired the resources to become a major player in the digital economy, and a leader in its worldwide market. At a time when Big Data is a priority challenge for most companies, even though they are often unable to take the measure of it, the Kompass International ‘better data company’ has become an indispensable partner. 

Mukhtar Ahmed Shaikh, Director and CEO of Kompass India and UAE, underlines the company’s strength, with a 6-million B2B database of Europe, USA, and India. Kompass India is part of Kompass Group, which has a presence in 66 countries. He is equally excited about the new partnership with Search in MENA, which will be a win-win situation to all related stakeholders under this initiative. The idea is to facilitate and help traders, distributors, manufacturers, exporters and importers to extend their reach within MENA and international markets with the SME community.