Zoho announces Arabic e-commerce store builder and integration with Tap Payments for MENA businesses

• Zoho announced a partnership with Tap Payments to enable MENA businesses to accept payments securely and seamlessly.
• The Zoho Commerce platform is among the few global vendors to offer a built-in right-to-left website builder. 
• At Zoholics Riyadh, Zoho revealed that it has recorded 104 per cent revenue growth in Saudi Arabia in 2021, and a 233 per cent increase in its channel partner network.

Riyadh—May 31,2022: Today, Zoho Corporation, a leading global technology company, announced a right-to-left (RTL) Arabic website builder for its e-commerce platform, Zoho Commerce. In addition, Zoho announced its integration with Tap Payments, a leading payment solutions provider in the MENA region, to empower businesses throughout their digital transformation journey. As part of this announcement, Zoho revealed that its revenue increased by 104 per cent in Saudi Arabia in 2021, while its channel partner network increased by 233 per cent. The announcement was made at Zoholics, an annual user conference, held at the Crowne Plaza Riyadh RDC Hotel. 

“Zoho is committed to serving the local businesses in Saudi Arabia and lowering the entry barrier for technology adoption,” said Hyther Nizam, President of Zoho MEA. “Businesses can set up their online stores in Arabic using Zoho Commerce, accept payments, and manage orders and shipping, all from a single platform. At the same time, the integration with Tap Payments will enable Zoho users to accept digital payments in a convenient, secure, and seamless way. In today’s economy, a digital presence is critical for businesses to survive and thrive, and we hope entrepreneurs here will take advantage of our technology to catapult their growth.” 

Speaking on Zoho’s approach to expansion in the Middle East and Africa, Nizam added, “Our transnational localism approach has helped us expand organically in the region, as it is a strategy where our company growth is rooted in local business ecosystem development and community progress. Aside from increasing our on-ground presence with new offices and hiring local talent, our focus over the years has been to help local entrepreneurs through partnerships with government bodies and local business networks. We are also evolving our offerings to serve the needs of the local market.” 

Integration with Tap Payments

Accepting online payments helps businesses improve cash flow by getting paid sooner and reducing the costs involved in physical transactions. With Zoho’s Tap Payments integration, businesses can accept multi-currency payments and extend the convenience of multiple local and global payment options— such as mada, Knet, BenefitPay, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express— to their customers. The integration will be available across various Zoho apps, including Zoho Books, VAT-compliant accounting software that offers e-invoicing provisions in line with local laws. 

Commenting on the partnership, Ahmed Al Aradi, EVP of Business for Tap Payments said, “We are excited to announce this partnership with Zoho and enable a seamless online payment experience to their merchants and customers. Similar to Tap, Zoho is a leader in the ecosystem that can now offer their customers an easy access to the MENA payment ecosystem instantly without any integration requirements.”

Arabic website builder for Zoho Commerce

Zoho Commerce is an e-commerce platform that empowers businesses to quickly create an online store. It features a wide range of pre-built, easily customizable templates and a drag-and-drop website builder. Zoho Commerce also provides built-in order management, shipping integration, product listing, SEO integration, and email automation to help users manage their online stores. Businesses can leverage AI-powered product recommendations, promo code features, and search-friendly customer review pages to provide great customer experiences to their clients at an affordable price.  

Zoho Commerce is now among the few global vendors to offer a built-in right-to-left (RTL) website builder, with no required plugins, coding configurations, or paid templates. With this feature, more businesses in the MENA region—even SMEs with limited resources—will be able to build their e-commerce stores in Arabic. The platform currently integrates with 13 leading payment gateways, including PayTabs, PayPal, 2Checkout and Stripe. The integration with Tap Payments is set to go live soon.

Zoho’s growth

In 2021, Zoho grew by 52 per cent in the Middle East and Africa region, which is the second-fastest growing region for the company. Zoho also grew its partner network by 55 per cent and tripled its workforce in the region. The company established its presence in seven countries and set up new offices in Saudi Arabia (Jeddah), Egypt, and South Africa. Saudi Arabia continues to be one of the fastest growing countries in the region for Zoho. To further expand its presence in Saudi Arabia, Zoho plans to hire locally, increase its channel partner network, and collaborate with the thriving business community. In 2022, Zoho plans to open offices in Kenya and Nigeria.

“Zoho’s growth in the region is largely underpinned by local businesses realising the power of SaaS applications, as they reap the benefits of digitising their operations,” said Ali Shabdar, Regional Manager for Zoho MEA. “The breadth and depth of Zoho’s product portfolio—which includes over 50 business apps, and our unified suite, Zoho One—enables businesses to digitise every aspect of their operations without worrying about data silos or integration hassles. The availability of RTL Arabic language support in our major apps, such as CRM, Books, Commerce, Campaigns and Creator, and other attributes, like ease of use and affordable pricing, have helped increase the adoption of our solutions in the region. Saudi Arabia remains one of our key markets and we will continue to invest in the region and grow our presence.” 

In Saudi Arabia, Zoho One remains the company’s best-selling product for the fourth consecutive year, followed by Zoho CRM, Books (accounting), Inventory (inventory management) and Workplace (enterprise collaboration).