• Middle East's first and largest online shopping site for mothers in the Middle East opens investment opportunity exclusively for females in MENA
  • Online shopping site has grown exponentially since 2011 launch; now with catalogue of 90,000 products and sales expected to triple in the next 12 months

Dubai, 21 August, 2013: Mumzworld.com, the Middle East's #1 mother, baby and child website, today launched the region's first ever women-only investment round. Designed for female investors looking to capture a slice of the lucrative and fast-growing online retail segment in the Middle East, the model is the brainchild of Mona Ataya, founder and CEO of Mumzworld.com. The investment opportunity – which allows individual women to become part of the region's expanding e-commerce sector – was inspired by the vision of the company, which Ataya says is to empower women by providing them more information, more choice, and more opportunities.

Ataya has already demonstrated her technology-entrepreneurial credentials as one of the founders of the region's leading online recruitment portal, Bayt.com. Ataya successfully launched mumzworld.com in 2011 and has since led the company through a period of rapid growth, as well as securing two rounds of venture capital funding.

“Mumzworld is a company built by mothers, for mothers,” she says. “Since launch, we have always been committed to giving the very best to our customers. This investment opportunity is a natural extension of that ethos – to empower women in the region to contribute and grow. As a mother myself, I know how challenging it is to go back to work while having children at home.  We wanted to give the opportunity to mothers, like myself who are educated and want to give back to their community and their families while still being able to dedicate 100% of their time to raising their children. Mumzworld is for mothers and women – so what better investors in the business than the consumer herself”

With the baby and toy market in MENA valued at close to US$8bn according to Euromonitor data, a population of more than 10 million babies, and with the region's mother typically wielding twice the spending power of her European peers, Ataya believes the opportunity is one that savvy business women in the region will be eager to investigate.

“This is a first for the Middle East,” says Ataya. “Our business is one that mothers understand and want, and we're a business that understands and wants to support mothers. With this women-only financing round, Mumzworld.com is empowering women to invest in a business they believe in, to reap the benefits from that business' growth, and potentially to become more financially independent.”

The exclusive opportunity to invest in mumzworld.com is open for a limited time and will end on 20 September 2013.  Women who are interested in understanding more about the investment opportunity are encouraged to email mumzformumz@mumzworld.com

Since its inception two years ago, mumzworld.com has established the largest and most comprehensive catalogue of products for mothers in the region, with more than 90,000 products available online, around 15,000 of which are exclusive to Mumzworld. To date, mumzworld.com has shipped over 90 tonnes of goods to over 20 countries, registering sales growth of 50 per cent quarter-on-quarter since its 2011 launch, with sales expected to triple over the next 12 months.  The site now features more than 500 leading brands from across the world – including Lamaze, Pampers, Fisher Price, Nuk, Dr. Brown and Danone plus many exclusive international brands that are not available in stores across the region.