Bayut’s parent company Emerging Markets Property Group raises $50M in latest round of funding

Startups have taken over the world at large and the UAE too follows this trend, where home-grown startups and international players are luring customers with innovative technologies and unique concepts. To stand out in this extremely competitive crowd and attract investors from across the world, requires a combination of innovation, commitment to excellence and a steady growth in revenue. Bayut exemplifies these qualities and has already established itself as a unique and reliable entity in the UAE property market. The recent announcement of our parent company, Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG) closing in on $50M in their latest round of funding comes at the perfect time when interest is high in the UAE's promising new tech companies. The subsequent confirmation by Bayut's CEO Haider Ali Khan that $25M of this funding will be used to expand Bayut's operations across the UAE and the Middle East has also been welcomed by the entire UAE real estate market. In the wake of the new entrepreneurship and residency laws announced in the UAE and the much-awaited EXPO 2020, there is a real potential for the UAE to become the right platform to support new technologies and startups.

Haider Ali Khan, the CEO of Bayut.com expressed his contentment with the progress so far and said that $25M of these funds would be deployed in the Emirates with a focus on further consolidation. “The remaining funds will be used to further strengthen EMPG’s leading position in its other markets,” he added. 

In addition to Bayut in the UAE real estate market, EMPG also owns and operates Zameen.com in Pakistan and Bproperty.com in Bangladesh, and have recently acquired the Moroccan property portal Mubawab.

This puts the group in a unique position as it generates over 2 million leads for their clients every month across these countries, and has a readership totalling a whopping 8 million every month! EMPG has already raised $60M through four previous rounds of funding and the current round is its largest to date, bringing the total to $110M. This new round of funds will help the property portals under the EMPG to solidify their presence across the 40 cities they currently operate in, including the UAE, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Morocco, Spain and Romania where they employ over 1500 people.

“EMPG’s growth has been comprehensive across all metrics, on the back of some of the world’s most advanced digital real estate platforms developed by our R&D teams,” said Group CEO Imran Ali Khan. 

“With a compounded annual revenue growth rate of over 100% over the last five years, more than 15,000 real estate agencies, and 8 million-plus monthly visits across our portals, EMPG is ideally positioned for regional dominance,” he added.

Such investments will certainly nourish the startup ecosystem in the country. With homegrown success stories mounting and names like Careem, Mr Usta and Fetchr grabbing international attention, the time is ripe for more innovative technologies to enter the UAE market. 

The real estate market in the UAE is constantly evolving much like the technology companies here. With the help of this funding, Bayut will be able to maximise the potential for a seamless real estate experience in the UAE property market using the latest technologies to enrich user experience. Bayut has always had a keen understanding of the UAE property market and has even established a first-of-its-kind Arabic property blog to meet the growing needs of the local population. This new funding is the perfect catalyst for the entire Bayut team to work together and become one of the UAE's foremost digital disruptors. 

Stay tuned to the most popular property blog in the UAE for more exciting updates and announcements from the real estate market.