BoxCommerce, a South African e-commerce platform designed for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups, has officially launched in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The move marks a strategic expansion into a region with strong consumer demand and limited user-friendly solutions for local businesses looking to scale.

The UAE's e-commerce market is projected to reach $8 billion in revenue this year, surpassing $10 billion by 2029. This growth is largely driven by the country's booming mobile commerce market, with over 70% of the population shopping online. BoxCommerce aims to capitalize on this trend by providing local SMEs with easy-to-use e-commerce solutions tailored to their needs.

Launched in 2017, BoxCommerce offers a range of tools for building online stores, managing inventory, processing payments, and handling logistics. The company has already seen significant success in Kenya, where it began operations in 2022 and onboarded over 5,400 merchants in its first year – 16 times the number reached by Shopify over the same period.

According to Craig Mcleod, CEO and founder of BoxCommerce, "The UAE is a strategic market for us. With mobile commerce dominating and over 70% of the population shopping online, the country is on track to grow its e-commerce market size to AED 48 billion by 2028. Our platform is designed to help local businesses tap into this explosive growth."

In the UAE, BoxCommerce will focus on helping SMEs set up their online stores in minutes with no technical expertise required. The platform will also support sales across websites, social media, and marketplaces, enabling merchants to expand their reach and grow their businesses.

Rahul Vaish, MENA Director of BoxCommerce, highlighted the need for user-friendly e-commerce solutions in the UAE, stating, "Despite having around 600,000 SMEs in the UAE, there are still very few easy-to-use eCommerce solutions designed to help local SMEs grow and scale. SMEs are the bedrock of any economy, representing 94% of the UAE's companies and employing over 86% of the private sector workforce."

BoxCommerce is backed by MasterCard's Start Path program and previously participated in Facebook's Commerce Accelerator in 2020. The company aims to become the go-to platform for emerging-market merchants looking to build omnichannel retail operations without technical complexity.

The launch of BoxCommerce in Dubai marks a significant milestone in the company's expansion plans, as it looks to tap into the growing demand for e-commerce solutions in the Middle East. With its user-friendly platform and focus on supporting local SMEs, BoxCommerce is well-positioned to capitalize on the UAE's booming mobile commerce market.