As part of its efforts to support businesses across the Kingdom, particularly small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), Saudi Arabia is now offering entrepreneurs free online stores with their commercial registration via the Mazaya platform. Launched by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce, the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), and the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Monshaat), this free domain for businesses is valid for up to half a year from the date of the request.
Once Saudi businesses set up their e-store through Mazaya, they are able to set up their offerings, link with other businesses, and reach a wider pool of customers in Saudi Arabia and beyond. Indeed, the initiative provides many advantages to SME owners, from providing businesses with detailed reports on the performance of their online store, to creating a link on Google maps allowing each business to list their details and more.
By also registering through this one unified government platform, these businesses will be perceived by the general public as credible, they will benefit from a reliable, safe, and responsive platform, and will be able to register their business on an Arabic domain, a definitely appealing feature for the more local of customers.
This initiative is seen as part of Saudi Arabia’s larger efforts to grow e-commerce across the Kingdom. In a country where most of the population is young and tech-savvy, and where over 80% of the country live in urban areas with super-fast internet connections, the shift to online shopping has been tremendous and is poised to continue growing. In fact, according to Businesswire.com, the country’s e-commerce market is predicted to reach nearly $24 billion (USD) in just six years.
