Five firms join to set up Kuwait's first B2B enterprise

C1ME Ltd and five Kuwaiti organisations yesterday established C1KT Ltd as the first step to launch Kuwait's first global business-to-business (B2B) enterprise. The company will now spearhead the launch and operation of an e-marketplace (online exchange).

C1KT investors include Naser Mohammad Naser Al Sayer, Saud Abdulaziz Abdulmouhsin Al Rashid and Brothers Co, part of Kuwait's Al-Rashid Group; the Arabesque Systems Co, the Arab Financial Co for the Registration of Intellectual Property and Electronic Trading (Aicripet); the Gulf Co for Trading Over The Internet (Gulf.com) and C1ME Ltd, the Commerce One distributor operations.

"We believe C1KT will make e-procurement a reality in Kuwait and bring users all the advantages of e-procurement, including substantial time and cost savings, utilising proven Commerce One technology," said David Brown, business development director of C1ME.

"All investors will be active users, which is the key to ensuring the success of the venture and bringing it immediate liquidity. We anticipate the e-marketplace will be operational within two or three months with fully localised content."

C1KT Ltd is the first of eight new regional e-marketplaces C1ME intends to invest in. The additional new e-marketplace operators are expected to be established in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Bahrain, the UAE, the Levant and the Maghreb.

"Interest from investors was particularly strong in Kuwait, which led to this new company being established ahead of others," said Adnan Al Bahar, chairman and managing director of the International Investor (TII), which secured the strategic investors and investment structure of C1KT. TII, which led the financing for the establishment of C1ME Ltd, is also involved in arranging investment funding for the other new companies throughout the region.

"We went through a comprehensive selection process to identify the best partners for Kuwait and to establish the most effective investment consortium spread across a variety of sectors," Al Bahar said. "We believe we have achieved this with penetration in the construction, general industry, services, IT and finance industries."

The C1KT Ltd e-marketplace will be connected to the Commerce One Global Trading Web. "Global Trading Web participation will offer all Kuwait companies, irrespective of size, the full advantages of electronic trading on a global scale," Brown said.

The Kuwait e-marketplace is expected to cover all stages of a business transaction between purchasers and suppliers, such as order to payment, catalogue management and consultation, order approval processing, delivery and invoicing as well as online auctions and tender offers.

"By being able to buy smarter and cut procurement cycle time scales, suppliers have the opportunity to reduce inventories, resulting in increased margins and improved bottom lines," Brown said.