Gadget Voize speaks to Mona Ataya, the CEO and Founder of Mumzworld.com, about the company, its new partnership with Haba, and the plans for 2018

Tell us about your partnership with Haba. Which markets will this partnership cover?
Mumzworld.com is the exclusive distributor for the Haba brand in the region. This partnership covers the whole of the GCC and Levant and is a natural fit between Mumzowrld, the Regional leader within the Mother, Baby and Child vertical and the global leader of quality German educational furniture and design.

What is your startup story? How did the company come into existence?
Mumzworld was founded seven years ago with the vision of making a mother’s life easier.  As Co-Founder of Bayt.com, Mumzworld Founder and CEO, Mona Ataya,  was already a successful entrepreneur but also a mother of three boys.

It was through motherhood that Mona experienced first-hand the challenges and frustrations parents face in shopping for their children in the region. Choice of baby products were limited, prices were high, quality was questionable and support communities were scarce.  So Mona decided to address this problem and created Mumzworld.com

Mothers are information hungry and want to be well informed with comprehensive information about what is available so they can make informed, empowered decisions. Mothers also want a support network, other mothers they can share experiences with and learn from. This is what Mumzworld is all about – a place where mothers can find the widest choice at the best everyday low prices, the highest quality, comprehensive factual information and a community to tap into for support and inspiration.

Did you come across any challenges when starting up?
Finding the right talent was, and still is one of the biggest challenges for us. The digital landscape is evolving rapidly and we need talent that is hungry and excited about the digital future and is committed to ensuring Mumzworld’s place at the forefront of these evolutions. Mumzworld started as, and will always be, a passion project and it is essential that everyone working in the Mumzworldteam shares this passion and drive for success.

What milestones do you want to achieve in 2018?
Mumzworld.com was founded in 2011, pioneering the vertical space for mother, baby and child. Over the last seven years,  we have anchored our position as the premier online retailer for all things mother, baby and child in the region, establishing ourselves as the go-to destination for global baby brands wanting to reach this important regional consumer. Today we serve global brands offering them fast and cost-effective access to the widest, most loyal and targeted consumer base.

Our number one priority for the coming two years is to build, scale and consolidate an indisputable position of category leader in Saudi Arabia, the region’s largest and most lucrative market. We recently unveiled our largest round of funding, welcoming new strategic partners such as Tamer Group. Working with these new and existing partners we will be able to leverage their strong capabilities in distribution and logistics to serve mums, across the GCC, with superior speed and unique mother-centric services, creating a superior customer experience.

Which markets do you currently serve? Do you plan to enter new markets?
The GCC is our home base for now where most of our sales come from and in 2018 we will continue our aggressive growth plans across KSA.  We shipped to 20 countries last year so expansion across the rest of MENA is a natural next step.