LAMUDI RAISES EUR 16M TO GROW IN ASIA AND LATIN AMERICA

Emerging markets real estate network Lamudi has raised EUR 16 million (USD 19 million) in investment to grow its operations in Asia and Latin America. Lamudi received the multi-million dollar investment after merging its businesses in the two regions to form one company, Lamudi Global.

Three investors have backed the business: Asia Pacific Internet Group which is a joint venture of Rocket Internet and Ooredoo; Holtzbrinck Ventures, the investment arm of the German publishing group; and current investor Tengelmann Ventures, a division of international multi-sector retailer Tengelmann Group.

Lamudi’s Global Co-Founder, Kian Moini, said: “Since Lamudi’s foundation, our goal has been to build the biggest real estate platform in the emerging markets. In less than two years, we have created a comprehensive online database for house-hunters that stretches from the Philippines to Peru.

This significant injection of funds is a great vote of confidence in Lamudi’s business model and speaks volumes about the demand that exists for online property search in emerging countries. We will use the investment to improve our product on both desktop and mobile, while further consolidating our leading position across Asia and Latin America.”

Launched by German internet platform Rocket Internet in October 2013, Lamudi is a global property portal operating exclusively in the emerging markets. Since its launch, the Berlin-based company has expanded to cover 32 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Lamudi now hosts more than 550,000 property listings in Asia and Latin America alone.

In April, Lamudi received EUR five million (USD seven million) in funds from Tengelmann Ventures and other undisclosed investors to boost its Asian operations. The company is now the leading property platform in Bangladesh and Myanmar, with strong growth also seen in its Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Indonesia branches throughout 2014.

In Latin America, Lamudi Mexico has seen the number of listings on its website increase six-fold over the past year. The portal is already the leading real estate website in cities including Monterrey, Tijuana and Querétaro. In Colombia, more than 20,000 house-hunters visit the Lamudi.com.co every day. Meanwhile, Lamudi Peru has grown in less than six months to host half as many listings as the country’s leading property portal.

In 2014, Lamudi released its Android and iOS apps in a bid to meet the growing demand for mobile property search in the emerging markets. In its first year in operation, the company launched a range of innovative projects, including a research report on the future of real estate in the emerging markets.