Digikala

Digikala

Type	Private company
Industry	Ecommerce
Founded	July 1, 2006
Founders	Hamid & Saeed Mohammadi
Headquarters	Tehran, Iran
Number of employees	1000 (2016)
Website	digikala.com

Digikala is the largest ecommerce startup in Iran and the Middle East. It was founded in July, 2006 by twin brothers Hamid and Saeed Mohammadi who had an unpleasant experience when they tried to buy a digital camera, after which they used $10,000 of their own savings to start the company.^[1][2] The company was reported to be valued at $150 million in 2014, and $500 million in late 2015.^[3][4] One of its investors is Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin, although Digikala's main investor is Sarava Pars, an Iranian investment company.^[5] Digikala offers same day delivery in Tehran and Karaj, and offers next day delivery in 20 other cities.^[6]

Growth

Digikala is ranked by Alexa as Iran's 3rd most visited website.^[7] It has 750,000 unique visitors per day, and 85% of Iran's ecommerce now takes place on Digikala.^[8] The company does not publicise its revenue but has said sales are growing at a rate of 200% a year, and that it is receiving orders from even the most remote villages in Iran. Hamid Mohammadi said the main focus of the company remains expansion "even if that means we will not be profitable, which is how Amazon is operating”.^[9]

References

1. "REUTERS SUMMIT-'Iran's Amazon' disregards post-sanctions competition, looks to expand".
2. "Forbes: Meet The Twin Brothers Transforming How Iranians Shop".
3. "The Washington Post: Here's what it's like to launch a start-up in Iran".
4. "BBC: Iran's digital start-ups signal changing times".
5. "RussiaToday: First Russian billionaire investing in Iran after sanctions".
6. "The Washington Post:What the Iran deal means for the country's surprisingly strong tech industry".
7. "Alexa: Top Sites in Iran".
8. "The Guardian: From Digikala to Hamijoo: the Iranian startup revolution, phase two".
9. "FT:Iranian ecommerce thrives despite obstacles".