Facebook is bringing its online sales platform Marketplace to the Middle East for the first time, with the launch of the service in Egypt, Algeria and Morocco due “over the next few weeks”.
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 on Monday.
"Marketplace will be rolling out in Egypt, Morocco and Algeria over the coming weeks," a Facebook spokesperson said.
"As we learn and get feedback from people about how they are using Marketplace, we will explore expanding into other countries within the Middle East region."
Launched in the US in October 2016, Facebook Marketplace is currently available in 52 countries worldwide and has more than 550 million users worldwide.
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“The Mena region has seen a tremendous growth in online spending along with internet penetration, rising from $2.7 billion to $7.3bn over the last two years,” said Jonathan Labin, Facebook’s managing director for Mena and Pakistan.
“With an existing community of 164 million active monthly users in the Arab world, Facebook already has an audience that spends a lot of time on the platform - adding a mobile commerce function can help cement Facebook as the go-to app for almost all of one’s internet-related needs.”
