Area served Pakistan | Chairman Gilles Blanchard | |
Traded as Zameen Media (Pvt) Limited Headquarters Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan No. of locations Offices: 11 cities
Presence: 47 cities Founder(s) Zeeshan Ali Khan, Imran Ali Khan |
Zameen.com (or Zameen Urdu: زمین) is the leading online real estate database that connects real estate dealers, developers, estate agencies with general buyers, sellers and renters in Pakistan. The site lists properties for sale and rent and has an active blog, news section and a forum. The company is headquartered in Lahore, Pakistan and has offices in 11 cities across Pakistan, including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Faislabad, Peshawar and Multan, and operates all over Pakistan.
Contents
History
Zameen.com was founded in 2006 by two Pakistani entrepreneur brothers, Zeeshan and Imran Ali Khan. In 2012, Gilles Blanchard, co-founder SeLoger.com (a French property portal), took up the role of Chairman at Zameen.com.
The company gave its website a complete makeover in March 2014. It's the fourth time the site has been completely revamped.
Business Model
Initially Zameen.com was a free for all website but in 2010, it shifted to paid model. Today the company generates its income by selling advertising space on its website. Zameen.com also has a property magazine.
Maps Section
In March 2014, Zameen.com launched its Maps Section.
Mobile Website
In March 2013, Zameen.com launched a mobile version of its website.
Urdu Website
In February 2013, the site rolled out its Urdu version.
Mobile Apps
Zameen.com rolled out its iPhone app on 27 August 2014. This release was quickly followed by their Android app. Later in November, the company rolled out a major update for both of its mobile apps.
Since then, the website has also launched mobile and desktop apps for the Windows platform.
Pakistan Real Estate Price Index
In February 2016, Zameen.com launched the Pakistan Real Estate Price Index. The tool provides real-time information and allows investors to analyse property price patterns over a period of time, going as far back as 2011. This exclusive tool, the first of its kind in Pakistan's realty sector, was created with the help of Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) professors.
Investment
In 2012, Zameen.com received an angel investment from Gilles Blanchard, the founder of Seloger.com, a French property website. In May 2014, Zameen.com struck an investment deal with Frontier Digital Ventures and Catcha Group after which Shaun Di Gregorio and Patrick Grove, CEOs of Frontier DV and Catcha Group respectively, joined Zameen.com's Board of Directors.
In September 2015 Zameen.com raised $9 million from three renowned international funds in its Series B investment round. Shortly afterwards, in January 2016, the portal announced it had raised another $20 million in its Series C venture round. The investment went into Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG), the parent company of both Zameen.com and UAE property portal Bayut.com.
Events & Exhibitions
Zameen.com organised its first exhibition by the name of Pakistan Real Estate Expo (PREEX) 2013 in collaboration with Government of Pakistan. A year later, the company held Zameen.com Property Expo 2014 in which over 50 exhibitors showcased their projects. The two-day event was attended by 30,000 people, making it the largest real estate expo to be held in the country.
In August, 2015 Zameen.com organised a two-day DHA Lahore Property Festival 2015 in collaboration with the Defence Housing Authority (DHA), a leading real estate developer in Pakistan. This was the first time the portal collaborated with a private developer to organise a property event.
In November 2015, Zameen.com hosted Zameen.com Property Expo 2015. The event was visited by 45,000 people.
In April 2016, the portal organised two property affairs (one in Islamabad and the other in Karachi), followed by a large-scale expo in Lahore in May.
In December 2016, Zameen.com held two property expos in Lahore and Islamabad, while another property event was organised by the portal in Karachi in January 2017.