The Maktoob Story

Maktoob was launched in the year 2000 as the first Arabic web-based email solution on the Internet. Maktoob, which translates from Arabic into “letter” or “written”, was co-founded by Samih Toukan, Hussam Khoury and Fadi Ghandour, the CEO of Aramex International, the first Arab company to be listed on NASDAQ.
Both Mr. Toukan and Mr. Khoury had previously worked at Andersen Consulting and later co-founded Business Optimization Consultants (BOC) in 1994, which grew into a leading Arab e-solutions and technology consulting company that provided the Arabic and English web based email service.

With the Internet in its infancy in the region, most of the very first users in the Arab world tended to have a good command of the English language and initially there appeared to be little demand for Arabic language services. As the Internet began to take hold in the region, the Founders foresaw the need in the market for Arabic email services. Maktoob was initially launched as an innovative Arabic and English web based email service that could operate on non-Arabic enabled operating systems. The Founders’ belief that demand for such a service would develop was vindicated and the Company was first to market with its product, Maktoob mail. The launch of Maktoob mail was a major milestone in the development of the Internet in the region. The number of Maktoob Registered Members soared, growing to over 18,000 Members in the first 6 months, over 115,000 Members in the first year and reaching over several million today.

Building on this success and on the established brand name of Maktoob, the company envisioned creating the leading online community and brand in the Arab world. New and innovative services were continuously introduced, establishing Maktoob at the forefront of the spread of the Internet in the region and the spread of the use of the Arabic language on the Internet.

Maktoob has grown to be an integrated group of companies and websites. This network includes: Maktoob.com the leading Arab portal with over 15 million unique Visitors, cashU; the electronic payment card; Launched in July 2003, Souq.com; auctions and marketplace; launched in 2006, Araby.com; the first Arabic search engine; launched in the second half of 2006, Maktoob Research; the first online Research service launched in September 2006.

Maktoob headquarter offices are based in Amman, Jordan with offices in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Kuwait.The Maktoob Team is made up of more than 288 professional employees.

Our Vision

Maktoob have clearly established itself as the Arab region’s most popular destination, measured in both page views and user numbers. Our different site’s user base of more than 15 million unique users far outdistances any other site in the Arab world.

Maktoob’s vision is to solidify its position as the world’s leading Arab online community with a target of over 50% of online Arab users utilizing Maktoob services.