Kavak, a pre-owned car platform, announces the launch of its operations in the UAE and Oman, as the first step of its expansion plans, with investments worth $130 million, in the GCC with Saudi Arabia next. Kavak merged with Oman’s Carzaty to expand into the GCC region.
“With our commitment to investing $130M into the GCC over the next two years, we are excited to bring customers a new level of customer experience as well as a wealth of employment opportunities to the region. Marwan and Hassan are the perfect matches to help bring local insights so we grow the business at scale in a meaningful and lasting way,” Carlos Garcia Ottati, Global CEO of Kavak, stated.
Kavak was launched in 2016 by Carlos Garcia Ottati and is a market-leading tech and data-driven platform for used cars at a current valuation of $8.7 billion.
Carzaty was founded in Oman in 2018 by Hassan Jaffar Al Lawati. Both startups partnered as a result of identifying customers’ pain points involved in buying or selling a used car and the commercial inefficiencies surrounding the pre-owned car sales industry.
“When we launched Carzaty in Oman we were problem-solving for the immediate market needs to create a data-driven business that could best address customer demands with a strong focus on improving the customer journey. With an investment from the Omani government, we were equipped to build the foundations of our business locally and expand into the UAE which acted as our launchpad to scale. As we start this new chapter with our colleagues at Kavak, we are excited to bring our local market knowledge to their global playbook as we double down on the UAE and Oman and expand further into KSA and the rest of the GCC,” Hassan Jaffer Al-Lawati, CEO of Carzaty, said.
Kavak will build a reconditioning center in Dubai and after its fully operational the facility will employ 150 expert mechanics and staff and will handle a monthly capacity of 1,300 vehicles including refurbishment, servicing, and repairs under warranty.
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