Page 27 - bneMag Dec22

bne December 2022 Companies & Markets I 27
NEQSOL responded that Georgia’s ban on it buying Caucasus Online would disrupt plans to create the new digital corridor. Caucasus Online's Black Sea subsea link would be an integral part of the network. Outstanding matters remain unresolved.
The Digital Silk Way project has also come under the spotlight of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS). During an OTS working group meeting held on October 25, the potential involvement of member states in the project was assessed.
Stuart Evers, chairman of AzerTelecom International, has emphasised that Digital Silk Way is a private venture and system and “not government-based” nor associated with infrastructure projects such as China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative.
“The system will be carrier-neutral and made available to anyone who wants to use it. One of our ambitions is to open up the region. There is a huge demand for a central direct digital corridor between Europe and Asia, because existing ones are geographically much longer,” Evers said in an interview with the Capacity newsletter.
Serbia’s Ananas
E-commerce aims
to become Amazon
of the Balkans
Valentina Dimitrievska in Skopje
Serbian online trade platform Ananas E-commerce, part of the Delta Holding corporation, plans to expand in the Balkan region and beyond, starting from its recent acquisition in North Macedonia, the company’s international business development manager Nina Angelovska told bne IntelliNews.
On October 10, Ananas E-commerce announced it officially became the owner of the Macedonian online shopping brands Grouper.mk and Paopao.mk, after it acquired 100% of Vebspot, which runs the two platforms, from Payten,
a member of Polish group Asseco.
“Ananas’ mission is to become the Amazon of the Balkans – to bring the online shopping experience seen in the developed countries to these parts of the Balkans,” Angelovska said.
“At the moment the focus is on establishing and launching Ananas on the Macedonian market. We have an ambitious agenda and a lot of work ahead of us. The regional expansion begins from [North] Macedonia and then other Western Balkans countries will follow,” she added.
“The plan is for the project to focus solely on terrestrial fibre and subsea to create a direct link. There are benefits of this system for infrastructure such as satellite base stations, because of the ever-increasing demand and the connectivity it will provide,” he was further quoted as saying.
“We believe that in light of the increase in internet consumption all over the world, this large-scale digital project will contribute to the development of the telecommunications industry in the region, as well as the expansion of business between countries and companies,” he added.
The project also forms part of AzerTelecom’s wider plans. Under the company’s Azerbaijan Digital Hub programme,
the telco is working to transform Azerbaijan into a regional digital hub that will facilitate Eurasian data transmission. The initiative is projected to boost the Azerbaijani economy by attracting investments in non-oil sectors and raising capacity in e-services and cybersecurity.
Delta announced earlier that investments in Ananas in the next five years will amount to €100mn.
Grouper the game changer
As well as being a former finance minister of North Macedonia, Angelovska was the founder of Grouper back in 2011. She called the company a “game changer" for Macedonian e-commerce.
When it was established in 2011, there was practically no e-commerce in the country, and it grew into the largest platform with over 300,000 users and over 3,000 merchants.
Almost two years ago, Grouper became part of the Polish group Asseco. It was taken over as an established brand on the market with a large base of customers, associates and an experienced team. At that point Angelovska retired from her management position in the company, later joining Ananas. Commenting on Ananas’ other acquisition, Angelovska said: “On the other hand, the recently launched PaoPao platform represents a starting point that counts over 100 partners who offer their products for sale through it.”
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