Schibsted alumnus Frode Nordseth (below) has co-founded general marketplace YourBaazaar.ae in the UAE. He had been VP of products at Dubai-based real estate marketplace Property Finder, having joined the company in March 2023.
YourBaazaar’s video-first listing model and seller storefronts aim to simplify and personalize the secondhand selling experience. Categories include electronics; home appliances; toys; watches and jewellery; and furniture and garden.
On his LinkedIn page, Nordseth describes the company as a “third generation marketplace with fully integrated pickup, delivery and safe payment” and adds that it is “Changing the classified space in the region — removing the current friction.”
Nordseth began his career in classifieds as one of the first four employees at Finn.no, which was launched by Schibsted in 1999. He later led other Schibsted businesses, including Schibsted Spain (now part of Adevinta), before relocating to the Middle East to join Property Finder.
In an email, Nordseth told the AIM Group: “YourBaazaar was founded to remove the friction that most of us experience with current pre-owned marketplaces.”
“The product has been in the making for quite a while. It has launched and we’re already seeing strong early traction.”
He added that YourBaazaar was seeking to raise pre-seed funding. The founding team includes Nordseth; Richard Cooke, a serial entrepreneur with experience in recruitment, retail/import, e-commerce and fashion; and Robbie Kennedy, a commercial lawyer and C-suite executive with a background in business and trading.
“The team is highly experienced, driven and incentivized with equity in the company,” according to Nordseth.
He described YourBazaar’s go-to-market strategy as “a mix of standard classifieds marketing but also something entirely new for this market — built around AI and strategic partnerships.”
Nordseth highlighted the UAE’s unique market dynamics, including one of the world’s most efficient and affordable last-mile delivery infrastructures and a fragmented competitive landscape.
“Buying and selling groups on Facebook and WhatsApp are, in my estimate, as big in volume [as market leader Dubizzle] — and often involve higher-value items. These alternatives are growing because of the friction left unresolved by the market leader. We’re taking it four steps further,” he observed.
According to Similiarweb data, Dubizzle had 6.3 million visits in March 2025, making it the leading general marketplace in Dubai, well ahead of second-placed OpenSooq (1.3 million).
