When the COVID-19 pandemic began to affect global markets, it became clear that it would test the resilience and performance of a rapidly growing e-commerce sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This was especially true in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and the Arab Republic of Egypt, the three focus markets of the research conducted. This paper takes a close look at how the pandemic impacted the growth and resilience of the e-commerce space in these three aforementioned markets. The Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT and Wamda conducted interviews and conversations with over
40 industry players resulting in several key insights and recommendations with regards to how e-commerce might continue to advance in the current landscape and future.
