Facebook Brings Marketplace To Middle East, To Open First Platform In Egypt

By Shounaz Mekky

Facebook announced on Monday that it is bringing Marketplace to the Middle East for the first time, by launching the service in Egypt, Algeria and Morocco “over the next few weeks”.

Marketplace is a destination on Facebook that allows users to buy and sell items directly through the site.

The feature will be available in the three north African countries in English and Arabic on desktop and for iOS and Android mobile users, the social network said.

The Middle East region has witnessed a surge in online spending in recent years.

According to a press release by Facebook, Arabs’ online spending has risen from $2.7 billion to $7.3 billion just over the last two years.

Launched in the US in October 2016, Facebook Marketplace is currently available in 52 countries and has more than 550 million users worldwide.