Real-estate website Lamudi raises $31.4 million for expansion in Asia & America

Lamudi, an emerging real estate network, has raised an investment of $31.4 million in an effort to expand its operations across Asia and Latin America.

Launched in October 2013 by the German internet platform, Rocket Internet, Lamudi has quickly become a big player in the online real estate indsutry and currently operates exclusively in emerging markets including Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Colombia and Peru. The new investment has been backed by Asia Pacific Internet Group, a joint venture of Rocket Internet and Ooredoo; Holtzbrinck Ventures, a leading European venture capital investor; and current investor Tengelmann Ventures, a division of international multi-sector retailer Tengelmann Group.

According to the Hanno Stegman, CEO of Asia Pacific Internet Group(one of the three investors),

“We are very happy with the development of Lamudi within our portfolio. The demand for great classifieds platforms across emerging and frontier markets in the APAC region is high. Lamudi has proven a strong capability to adapt to diverse markets and offer the best user experience. We are confident to see the business growing further.”

Last year, Lamudi raised 16 million EUR in February and its revenue grew by 460% for the year. Thanks to this generous sum of $31.4 million, it is set to grow even faster in 2016.

Meanwhile, the country director for Pakistan, Saad Arshed, stated that,

“Our goal is to build the biggest real estate platform in Pakistan. The additional funds will allow us to achieve market leadership and dominance in the markets at a faster rate. Last year was an intense and successful year, full of very important milestones for the company, including the roll-out of a dedicated developer product.”

Excluding Lamudi.pk itself, the market for real-estate portals in Pakistan is pretty barren and only Zameen.com, which also raised a handsome $20 million in January, can provide some competition. Through this lack of rivalry, both the residential portals have captured the whole market and are now competing among themselves.