Enab Baladi – Jana al-Issa
In a widely attended governmental and official event, led by the Syrian Minister of Communications and Technology, Abdulsalam Haykal, the Hudhud platform was launched as the first digital platform aimed at exporting Syrian products to foreign markets, directly connecting local producers with external importers.
In his opening speech at the Nahda Tech conference held in the Syrian capital, Damascus, over two days on May 10, the Minister of Communications emphasized that Hudhud aims to export Syrian products to foreign markets and enhance their global digital presence. The platform will serve as a comprehensive electronic gateway to directly connect local products with external importers.
The government is trying, through several previous decisions, to support the technical transformation in various aspects of life that touch the Syrians, but this transformation may face several obstacles, including financial or technical issues.
E-commerce is the process of buying and selling products or services over the Internet. It includes many activities, such as online shopping, e-banking, ticket booking, and providing services online. E-commerce allows individuals and companies to access a global market, enabling them to sell and buy products and services easily and efficiently.
From Syria to the Gulf states
The CEO of the Hudhud platform, Raed Saqr, explained in an interview with Enab Baladi that Hudhud is considered the first Arab electronic market of its kind, which started by exporting Turkish products and today focuses on supporting and exporting Syrian products. It aims to provide an Arab alternative to global platforms and enable local producers to reach markets in the Gulf and other countries soon.
Hudhud is a private company officially registered in Turkey in 2022, then expanded and obtained a license in Qatar in 2024.
Regarding the benefits that Syrian traders will gain if they wish to utilize this application, Saqr clarified that the Hudhud application currently offers free registration for traders, along with comprehensive marketing for their products through wholesale or retail sales. It also provides an opportunity to open new export markets starting from the Gulf states, with plans to expand into other countries.
In exchange for providing these services to traders, the platform’s owners receive a percentage of sales without any fixed fees. It also ensures that money is transferred through a transparent and secure financial system, in partnership with trusted money transfer companies, according to Saqr’s responses to questions posed by Enab Baladi regarding the profits of the platform’s owners and how to ensure money transfer for traders.
Saqr believes that e-commerce opens global markets to Syrian products, reduces operational costs, and provides flexibility for expansion and growth despite local challenges.
Modest sales and visitor numbers
The After Ship website, which specializes in providing data about e-commerce, indicated in a statistic regarding e-commerce in Syria for the year 2025, that there are 146 electronic stores in Syria.
The business and industry sector leads the list with 19 stores (13.01% of the total), followed by the clothing sector with 17 stores (11.64%), then the health sector with 12 stores (8.22%).
According to detailed statistics, 66 stores achieve monthly sales of less than $100, representing 100% of the stores with known sales.
As for the number of monthly visitors, 140 stores (88.05%) do not exceed 100 monthly visitors, while the number of visitors for 16 stores ranges between 100 and ten thousand visitors (10.06%). Only three stores have visitor numbers ranging between one thousand and ten thousand (1.89%).
Regarding monthly sales volume, most electronic stores in Syria sell fewer than 100 products monthly, with a total of 151 stores (83.43%). In second place, the sales of 21 stores range between 100 and 1,000 products monthly (11.60%), while six stores only sell between 1,000 and 10,000 products monthly (3.31%).
A window to the digital world
The economist, Muhammad al-Saloum, considered that Syria is witnessing digital transformations with new features, one of which was the launch of the Hudhud platform as the first electronic platform specialized in exporting Syrian products to global markets.
While some see it as an ambitious initiative under the sanctions, others consider it a natural step that has long been awaited, alongside global transformations towards a digital economy.
One of the most significant positives that may drive traders to adopt such applications, according to al-Saloum in his interview with Enab Baladi, includes:
Opening foreign markets without the need for travel or costly exhibitions. Reducing reliance on intermediaries and increasing profit margins. The ability to deal in hard currencies, providing relative protection against fluctuations in the Syrian pound.To guarantee trader interest in such platforms, the platform should offer competitive commissions (not exceeding 10-12%) and a flexible payment mechanism that ensures part of the profits within Syria and the other part abroad. Additionally, it should provide reliable partnerships with international shipping companies and guarantees against fraud and delays, as suggested by the economic researcher.
Regarding the current state, al-Saloum indicated that e-commerce is still a new culture in Syria, lacking solid trust from most traders, especially those accustomed to traditional methods. Practical training programs are required to explain how to take professional product photographs, pricing mechanisms, and compliance with export specifications.
In summary, Hudhud and its future counterparts are not just digital marketing platforms but experiences that place the Syrian economy at a crossroads: either to believe in transformation and prepare for it seriously or to be content with merely watching while the markets of the world around us are changing.
The success here is not just related to the platform itself but to our collective ability to adapt to a digital economic reality that does not wait for the latecomers.
Muhammad al-Saloum, Syrian economist
Needed government support
Economic researcher Muhammad al-Saloum emphasized that this experience requires serious governmental support, including improving infrastructure ranging from electricity and communications to internet services, alongside developing the legal environment for e-commerce and facilitating financial transactions through reliable and secure channels.
The importance of e-commerce in Syria arises for several reasons, as it can revitalize the local economy, create new job opportunities, improve the quality of life, enhance financial inclusion, and confront the economic conditions and other local challenges.
At the same time, e-commerce faces many challenges, including the lack of necessary infrastructure such as high-speed internet and advanced logistics services, alongside the absence of legal regulations, necessitating the establishment of a legal framework that governs trade and protects consumer and seller rights, in addition to consumer concerns regarding security in electronic transactions and data privacy.
Hudhud Shop: A gateway to E-commerce in Syria Enab Baladi.
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