Alibaba-backed Trendyol plans $2bn Gulf investment

• Ecommerce platform expanding
• Rapid growth in Saudi Arabia
• Sovereign fund partnerships ‘key’

Trendyol, Turkey’s largest ecommerce platform, is to invest $2 billion in the Gulf region over the next three years.

The company is backed by Chinese tech giant Alibaba, and has established a presence across all six GCC countries. It has had rapid growth in Saudi Arabia, now its second-largest market, in particular.

Its group president, Çağlayan Çetin, speaking at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, said Trendyol has generated $1 billion in gross merchandise value in its first year in Saudi Arabia and now reaches a million daily active users in the kingdom.

“We have earmarked another $2 billion for investment in the Gulf over the next three years,” he said.

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Saudi Arabia is Trendyol’s second-largest market, Çetin said, “and we are investing heavily into infrastructure and local talent. We are bringing all of our tech [and] infrastructure know-how, warehousing and logistics, all as an investment into the country.”

The company employs 500 people in Saudi Arabia.

Last year, Trendyol partnered with Saudi Arabia’s Cenomi Group to operate an online fashion and lifestyle marketplace across the Gulf.

It called expansion into the Gulf “one of the most important growth strategies” for the company.

Trendyol, founded in 2010,  became Turkey’s first “decacorn” – a company that achieves a valuation of $10 billion – in 2021, reaching a valuation of $16.5 billion after raising $1.5 billion from investors including General Atlantic, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Princeville Capital, as well as the sovereign wealth funds Qatar Investment Authority and ADQ of Abu Dhabi.

Alibaba holds a 70 percent stake in Trendyol and has been instrumental in the company’s growth, injecting $350 million in 2021 to support its expansion plans.

Çetin emphasised the importance of “patient capital” from these regional and global investors, which he said was crucial not only for funding but also for navigating mergers and acquisitions opportunities and regional challenges.

Partnerships with Gulf sovereign funds, he said, were playing a key role in helping Trendyol achieve its growth targets.

“It’s very important to have a strong home base, which can differentiate you in the growth markets you’re going to,” Çetin said. “But capital that’s backing you and giving you the vision is equally important.”