OTVentures, a subsidiary of mobile giant Orascom Telecom, Media & Technology (OTMT), announced Tuesday 51 per cent share acquisition of DARE'n'DEAL, Egypt's largest group-buying website. Valued at LE20 million ($3.3 million), DARE'n'DEAL offers attractive deals on a variety of products and services in return for the customer's registration and their ability to gather the minimal number of people. Established in 2011, the company, which operates solely through the internet, has rapidly caught the attention of Egypt's retail community. E-commerce in the Egypt and the Middle East has plenty of room to grow. According to OTventure, the size of e-commerce in the region is a meagre $5.8 billion, though it is expected to grow by one third in 2012. “The acquisition was just an initial step on the path to executing a more expansive strategy in the field of e-commerce within the Arab region, as well as the merging of e-commerce and mobile technology," says OTVentures CEO, Hanan Abdel Meguid. In an official statement, DARE'n'DEAL's CEO, Abdel Latif Olama, stated that additional resources – to be made available following the web-based company's acquisition – will enable the online venture to offer as much as LE120 million in discounts for 5.6 million users in 2012. OTVentures procurement of the company will also boost plans to extend the group-buying website's services to several Arab countries in the Middle East. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/34542.aspx
