ArabClicks — a performance-based marketing platform that helps e-commerce companies connect and grow in the Middle East and North African (MENA) markets – has expanded its services to Egypt, which is home to the highest number of Internet users in the Arab World.

Since its formal entry into the North African nation in May 2019, the Dubai-based company has already signed a handful of deals with key market players. Talks are underway with many other e-commerce companies and online content publishers in the country.

“Not only e-commerce firms but also online content publishers and social media influencers are approaching ArabClicks to help them turn more than 48 million Internet users across Egypt into a stable source of revenue and benefit all the stakeholders in the process,” said ArabClicks Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Mauro Romano.

Historically, Egypt had many firsts to its credit as the e-commerce sector grew in the region. Cairo, for example, was the first in MENA to introduce online food ordering concept way back in 1999 with Otlob. “Yet, e-commerce penetration in the country is still at a nascent stage,” said Romano.

He was referring to the latest study by the country’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) that highlighted that e-commerce only comprised 0.4 per cent of the total retail trade in Egypt. “But the figure is set to increase very quickly as more than half of the country’s total population uses the internet. All they need is awareness about utilising the untapped potential of the online market,” Romano explained.

The social media penetration rate in the country, according to Bain and Company, stands at 40 per cent. Facebook remains the dominant platform for Egyptians with 40 million users, a growth of 20 per cent since 2017.

At present, there are more than 2 million Twitter users in the North African country, a growth of 18 per cent driven mostly by millennials who are tweeting mainly about food and travel. Instagram is the country’s second most popular platform with 11 million users posting mainly about fashion, music and travel.

There are 3.5 million Snapchat users, of which more than 2 million are female who tend to consume primarily the news, followed by lifestyle and fashion topics.

Replicating its successful UAE operations in Egypt, ArabClicks is devising a strategy to assist e-commerce firms, content publishers and social media influencers in the country generate a smooth and strong revenue stream through its affiliate marketing programmes and monetisation tools, the company said in a statement.

“Egypt has the potential to be one of the Arab-speaking world’s biggest e-commerce markets. Some 60 per cent of the population is aged under 30, and increasingly tech-savvy,” Romano highlighted.

Government statistics suggest that about 8 per cent of the estimated 48 million internet users make online purchases in Egypt. Most of these transactions are in the categories of electronics, entertainment, airline tickets and fashion, the reports point out.

“Our advertisement marketing programmes will help content publishers in Egypt bring in revenue through online links without disturbing the website users,” said Romano, referring to the new monetisation tools offered by ArabClicks that smoothly transform published content into a potential source of revenue generation.

According to the company, products like ArabClicks LinkConverter and Arabclicks SmartLink turn any hyperlinks into a source of revenue generation without altering the user experience.

While ArabClicks LinkConverter scans website content and makes online links embedded in a publisher’s content generate income, its SmartLink enables publishers and influencers to monetise commercial link across all of social networks and channels, the company said, adding that the unique feature of Arabclicks SmartLink also allows content creators to tweet, post share and send revenue generating links to anyone anywhere.

“Our affiliate links aren’t just limited to blogs and websites. Arabclicks SmartLink helps turn product and brands links into a high-powered hyperlink that earns commission for every sale,” said Romano. “This means one can make money from Facebook Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, email list and other online platforms.”

“ArabClicks, one of the best paymasters in the market, hopes to grow at a fast pace due to lack of any strong competitor in the North African country,” said Romano.