Last time, we looked at South America where we compared three heavy-hitters in the real estate industry, the portals they own, and in which markets they compete.
Hopping over to the MENA region, we look at the two biggest players in the real estate industry in the Middle East and Northern Africa- PropertyFinder and EMPG.
Bespoke classifieds owner rapidly growing with constant acquisitions, EMPG focuses on this region, pumping its resources and support into emerging markets across the Middle East and Northern Africa. EMPG’s flagship ventures are Bayut.com in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, Mubawab in Morocco and Tunisia.
Morocco
EMPG acquired the Moroccan real estate classifieds platform in May of 2018 for an undisclosed amount. Mubawab is present in a number of countries in the region and was the obvious choice for EMPG to further expand into Africa.
Tunisia
EMPG received Mubawab.tn as part of the acquisition of its headquartered platform, Mubawab.ma.
Algeria
EMPG received Mubawab.dz as part of the acquisition of its headquartered platform, Mubawab.ma.
Egypt
EMPG entered a strategic partnership with OLX in April 2020, which made EMPG the largest OLX shareholder and bringing up its valuation to $1 billion.
Lebanon
As part of the EMPG OLX partnership in April 2020, EMPG got hold of OLX’s Lebanon platform, as well.
Saudi Arabia
In June of 2019, bayut expanded into Saudi Arabia. EMPG is the parent company of bayut, giving it a solid hold within the region as bayut’s presence is not only rampant, but the popularity of the platform is an important factor for holding onto the MENA markets.
UAE
In the UAE, EMPG has hold of two portals thanks to prior acquisitions. It acquired dubizzle through the OLX partnership, and then bayut, it’s subsidiary, which is headquartered in the UAE.
Jordan
Bayut has roots in Jordan as well, making it another market under EMPG’s control.
Oman
As part of the EMPG OLX partnership in April 2020, EMPG got hold of OLX’s Oman’s platform, as well.
Turkey
ErebGlobal is an EMPG-backed real estate acquisition portal with site offices in Turkey.
Property Finder is another leader in the MENA region, having a number of its own portals spread throughout the major markets within the Middle East and Northern Africa. Property Finder’s portals are present in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Egypt, Lebanon, and Morocco.
Sarouty
Outlier when it comes to Property Finder’s subsidiaries, Sarouty was founded in 2014 in Morocco and runs the real estate sector of the country. In 2016, it acquired Selektimmo, cinching its position as one of the largest real estate portals in Morocco.