As part of its commitment to uplifting up-and-coming IT and tech-related businesses with an international-leaning mission, Zubr Capital recently invested in Larixon Classifieds.

Larixon Classifieds is a holding company that owns multiple successful classified platforms across various emerging markets. Among these platforms are Bazaraki.com (the largest classified in Cyprus), Unegiu.mn in Mongolia, Somon.tj in Tajikistan, Pin.tt in Trinidad & Tobago, as well as JaCars.net for car classifieds throughout Jamaica.

The current international classifieds market is experiencing a renaissance moment. Expected total growth will likely exceed $382 billion USD by the end of 2030. That is a massive jump in value from the $81 billion USD in 2022. Key growth factors are driving an increase in demand. Increasing internet penetration in new markets, broader mobile device usage, and rising revenues from the development of transactional modeling are factors driving the fresh approach to the utilization of classifieds.

The most critical success factor for classifieds is market leadership.It is important for a platform to be best known to users among other platforms so that it can become the market leader, attract the maximum number of users and have a strong barrier to entry for other players. Only the No.1 player in the market has the opportunity to implement a transactional model successfully. Larixon complies with this requirement, as evident in Bazaraki.com in Cyprus, which enjoys 46% top-of-mind results in the general classified section, 61% in car classifieds and 64% in mobile classifieds, with only Facebook as a competitor, albeit a distant one.

Other platforms show similar high-performance metrics. For instance, Unegui.mn in Mongolia has up to 80% brand awareness, JaCars.net has up to 45% in car classifieds in Jamaica, Pin.tt enjoys up to 27% brand awareness as a car classified in Trinidad & Tobago, and Somon.tj has no rivals at all as a general classified in Tajikistan.

The goal of Larixon Classifieds remains unchanged. Maintain the status as the “most visited local website” and “most popular mobile application” in the fast-growing international classifieds market. Creating such scalable marketplaces enriches the value of local economics, allowing people to trade and deal with one another more efficiently.

Looking forward, it will be interesting to watch Larixon solidify its market share in the classifieds industry. The help from Zubr Capital and other similar investors is opening access to many new users, placing an emphasis on people who make up the businesses that, in turn, make real change at the local level.

The Larixon team has seen the value of Zubr Capital not only in pure investments but also in business development. Among the key priorities are creating a strategy, setting up financial accounting, attracting strategic partners, and structuring the group of companies. The fund has already implemented all of these competencies in other portfolio companies and is ready to support Larixon in further increasing the value of the business.

“As a fund investing in the tech industry, we are excited to see how Larixon Classifieds will continue to develop. Their track record in the online classifieds industry demonstrates the immense need for their services and the proficiency of their team. This industry has shown remarkable stability, with resilient valuations even in the face of global crises like the pandemic. We’re eager to push for even more success through our strategic partnership,” Viktar Dzenisevich, Investment Director and Partner at Zubr Capital. 

“We are pleased to welcome Zubr Capital to the team. We are sure that with their experience and fresh perspective, we will be able to have an even greater positive impact on our markets, bringing new technologies and opportunities to our countries,” Evgeny Ostrovsky, co-founder of Larixon Classifieds.