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E-commerce in MENA is set to rise at an incredible speed, from a rough $11 billion in 2012 to a staggering $15 billion by 2015. This phenomenal growth greatly appealed to Amy Kyleen Lute and Fouad Jeryes, two successful entrepreneurs who founded Hijabik.com, the first e-commerce site to sell affordable, fashionable hijabs.

The idea dawned on Lute and Jeryes after scanning the market and realizing that available online retail companies only offered high-end Western brands to the Arab population. “We took a look around and realized that there was a misalignment between the solutions that were being provided and the demand of the customers—no one was addressing the fashion needs of the Arab, Islamic market,” remarks Lute.  

Hijabs looked attractive on all fronts: they belonged to a product category in need of a modern and elegant uplift and were easy to manage, store, source, and ship. “For Muslim women internationally, their respective local markets lack the modern hijab fashions they seek. When we stepped in providing a full-range marketplace with newly designed, hand-made goods and other elegant styles from prints to knits, our first customers were just as pleased as were with the results.”

Indeed, the idea was a remarkable success from the very start. Lute and Jeryes first launched their idea through a Facebook Fan Page, and in no time jumped to a simple website before upgrading to the current version. In less than 8 months, the Facebook page attracted more than 61,000 likes with high levels of engagement and conversion to the website. The website’s reputation travelled over the seven seas to reach the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe—all this with “zero marketing spending in those areas,” exclaims Lute. “The traction and sales we have experienced far surpassed our expectations.”

The secret behind Hijabik.com’s success

It’s not with a stroke of luck that the founders of Hijabik.com reaped such great rewards. Lute’s experience at Oasis500 added momentum to her venture. She understood the challenges of starting up a digital business and had a solid grip of her company both at the macro and micro level—from fundraising and regional expansion to synchronizing analytic tools on the website and writing descriptions for products. “It takes a village to raise a child,” quotes Lute as she describes how she uses her skills to grow her startup.

But that’s not the only reason why Hijabik.com is a fast growing digital business. Hijabik has a very appealing value proposition with a super simple business model. “Hijabik gives covered, Muslim women access to a large variety of quality, fashionable headscarves allowing them to express themselves and look the way they want to every day.”

Interestingly, Hijabik’s fashion styles have even attracted non-hijab wearing women who used the purchased items as shawls wrapped around the neck or shoulder.

The interface of Hijabik.com is very user-friendly and offers several payment options: through credit card, PayPal, or cash on delivery (COD). The lead time is also quite short: items are delivered in Jordan within 2 days—free of charge, while international deliveries take 3 to 5 business days at a very reasonable rate.

Lute works closely with local designers and on the product lines sold on Hijabik.com. “We bring our knowledge of the market and online expertise to their incredible talent and taste,” says Lute. “We’ve learned a great deal about what the market wants from our sales, and frankly, the data says it all. We just listen to the patterns.”

Challenges in a young digital economy

According to Lute, one of the biggest challenges of running an e-commerce company in MENA has been to exist solely online. True, the numbers show that the digital landscape in the region is booming. However, a good percentage of people still do not fully comprehend the concept of an online store. “We have received as many inquiries about our non-existent store location as we have orders,” says Lute. “Sometimes it seems like we, as one of the many e-commerce stores, are actually the ones pushing the trend—customer by customer—to go where everyone says it is going on its own.”

Lute also remarks that a high percentage of their orders in the Arab region are COD. Actually, COD transactions account for 70% of online purchases in the MENA. “This is very typical for e-commerce sites in the region and has been linked to both the lack of trust in online payment gateways and the overall low penetration of credit cards in the region, especially Jordan,” states Lute. “This is an evidence of the MENA region's existence as a primarily offline marketplace. It will be interesting to see how this changes with time.”

Despite these challenges, Lute holds a very optimistic outlook for Hijabik.com’s future. They are currently consumed with engaging new clients and providing them with top-notch customer service. “On the horizon, we are looking at targeting more aggressively markets outside of Jordan and expanding our product line from only hijabs to other conservative fashion items.”