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The Middle East region has witnessed strong growth of e-commerce despite weak links in the value chain

On many counts, the past two years have been extraordinary for e-commerce in the Middle East. The total value of online transactions in the region grew three- or even four-fold in some countries. A number of regional start-ups bucked the e-commerce trend with many overpassing the symbolic USD 1m mark in revenues after less than two years of operations. Some of these success stories include JadoPado, EmiratesAvenue and Alshop. Simultaneously, group-buying companies such as Cobone also drove the growth of e-transactions in 2011 though the trend has receded in 2012 with the exit of Livingsocial from the market.