Dubizzle

Dubai-founded online classifieds marketplace, launched in 2005, where users list and find property, vehicles and used goods. It is a flagship brand of Dubizzle Group, the Prosus-backed owner of Bayut.

Industry: Online classifieds marketplace | Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Founded: 2005 | Total Funding: USD 350M

About Dubizzle

Dubizzle is an online classifieds marketplace launched in Dubai in 2005. J.C. Butler and Sim Whatley started it to give expatriates an easy way to buy and sell, and the site opened with about USD 12,000. It grew quickly across the Middle East and North Africa. In 2012 the founders stepped back from the co-chief-executive role, which was filled by the company's former marketing director, Arto Joensuu. Ownership changed hands twice in the following years. In 2013 Naspers, through its MIH unit, bought a 51 percent controlling stake for about USD 120 million, with Butler and Whatley leaving daily operations. In April 2018 OLX Group, part of the Naspers family, bought the remaining 49 percent for USD 190 million, a deal that valued the business at roughly USD 400 million according to Wamda. In 2020 Dubizzle was combined with property portal Bayut under a holding company, Emerging Markets Property Group, now called Dubizzle Group. The merger came with an AED 550 million (USD 150 million) investment round led by existing shareholders and OLX Group, which became the largest single shareholder with 39 percent. The combined group operates Dubizzle and Bayut in the UAE and also brought in OLX businesses in Egypt, Lebanon, Pakistan and several GCC countries. Reports describe it as the Arab region's first home-grown unicorn. Databases show total funding of about USD 479 million over six rounds, including a USD 200 million Series F in October 2022 with KCK Group among the investors. Prosus, the owner of OLX, remains a major shareholder with a stake reported at about 38 percent. The group has continued to add businesses. In February 2025 Dubizzle acquired Egyptian online car marketplace Hatla2ee. Haider Khan, who is chief executive of Bayut, has been described by The Fintech Times and Bayut's Wikipedia entry as the head of Dubizzle Group, although some databases still list co-founder Imran Ali Khan as chief executive. In October 2025 the group announced a plan to list about 30 percent of its shares on the Dubai Financial Market, with trading expected from 6 November. Gulf News reported 2024 revenue of USD 222 million, and said the UAE business generated USD 105 million of adjusted revenue in the first half of 2025, 89 percent of the group total, with a 46 percent profit margin. A day before bookbuilding was due to start, the company postponed the offering, saying it would assess the best timing for a future listing. Dubizzle said it remains focused on its UAE business and on expansion in Saudi Arabia.

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