Daraz  is a South Asian online retailer founded in 2012 by a German venture capital company, Rocket Internet. Daraz Group operates its e-commerce sites in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. In May 2018, Daraz Group was acquired by the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group.

Daraz is a South Asian online retailer founded in 2012 by a German venture capital company, Rocket Internet. Daraz Group operates its e-commerce sites in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. In May 2018, Daraz Group was acquired by the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group.

History

In 2012, Daraz started its operations as an online fashion retailer in Pakistan. It changed strategy and moved towards becoming a general online marketplace in November 2014. Daraz Group launched operations in Bangladesh and Myanmar in January 2015.

In September 2015, Daraz.pk secured $55 million in the first round of funding in order to continue operations in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. 60% of the investment comes from the former Daraz investor, Asia Pacific Internet Group (APACIG), with the remaining 40% of the investment amount from the CDC Group, a state-owned Development Finance Institution (DFI) in the UK with nearly £3.4 billion under management.

Kaymu began operations in of Nigeria and Pakistan in January 2013 as an online marketplace similar to eBay. Kaymu Pakistan was Pakistan's first online marketplace. In January 2013, Kaymu received an undisclosed amount of funding from Rocket Internet for expansion into other regional markets in Asia and Africa. Until June 2015, Kaymu operated in Mozambique, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Bulgaria, Uzbekistan, and in the Philippines. Overall, Kaymu used to operates in 35 countries, 17 of which are in Africa, and the rest in Europe and Asia.

Daraz Group was already operating in the South Asian regions of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. In July 2016, Daraz began operations in Sri Lanka and Nepal.

In May 2018, Daraz Group announced that it had joined Alibaba Group's ecosystem for an undisclosed deal. This move comes about two years after Alibaba's acquisition of Lazada Group, which was also a startup by Rocket Internet Group in South East Asian market. Alibaba Group also runs Singapore's Redmart and owns stakes in India's Paytm and Indonesia's Tokopedia.
Daraz Group was already operating in the South Asian regions of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar In July 2016, Daraz began operations in Sri Lanka and Nepal.

In May 2018, Daraz Group announced that it had joined Alibaba Group's ecosystem for an undisclosed deal. This move comes about two years after Alibaba's acquisition of Lazada Group, which was also a startup by Rocket Internet Group in South East Asian market. Alibaba Group also runs Singapore's Redmart and owns stakes in India's Paytm and Indonesia's Tokopedia.

Daraz Group's five regional markets (Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, & Sri Lanka) cover 460 million people with 60% of the population in these regions are under the age of 35. Alibaba Group acquired Daraz Group's operations in these regions of South Aisa.