Saygin Yalcin’s CNN Interview
Saygin Yalcin Discusses Company Growth and iMENA’s IPO Path in CNN Interview
Entrepreneur Saygin Yalcin sat down with CNN Business Arabic for a wide-ranging interview on his founder journey, the growth of his companies and the next chapter for iMENA Group as it moves toward an IPO.
The interview traced Yalcin’s path from his early life in Germany to building businesses across the Middle East. He spoke about how family responsibility shaped his relationship with money, risk and ambition, and how those early lessons influenced his approach to entrepreneurship.
Yalcin’s first major regional success came through Sukar, the Middle East’s first and largest private shopping club, an early online fashion platform. Sukar was later merged with Souq.com, forming part of the Souq.com Group, which became one of the region’s defining e-commerce companies. Souq.com was ultimately sold to Amazon in a landmark transaction for the Middle East and, at the time, one of Amazon’s largest acquisitions outside the United States.
After Sukar, Yalcin turned his focus to the automotive market. He founded SellAnyCar to solve one of the most common problems for car owners: selling a used vehicle quickly, transparently and without the uncertainty of private-market negotiations.
The conversation highlighted the scale and resilience behind SellAnyCar’s growth. Yalcin discussed the difficult early years, including moments when the company came close to failure, but also how those periods shaped the discipline needed to build a lasting business. SellAnyCar expanded beyond the UAE and became a broader automotive platform with operations across the region, including Saudi Arabia.
A major part of the interview focused on iMENA Group, where Yalcin is the largest shareholder. The group brings together a portfolio of regional digital businesses, including SellAnyCar and other high-growth platforms across classifieds (OpenSooq), mobility (Jeeny) and online services. CNN’s discussion framed iMENA as a company now entering a more institutional phase, with a path toward a public listing.
Yalcin’s role has shifted from building individual companies to helping scale a wider group of businesses. The IPO path for iMENA marks a significant transition: from founder-led growth to capital-market readiness, stronger governance and a structure built for long-term shareholder value.
The interview also explored Yalcin’s public profile and how personal branding has supported his businesses. He explained that visibility can help build trust, attract talent and lower customer-acquisition costs, but only when backed by real operations and measurable company performance.
In the final section, the discussion turned to the future of the automotive industry. Yalcin spoke about data-driven pricing, artificial intelligence, the rise of Chinese car manufacturers and the challenges around electric-vehicle resale values. These trends are directly relevant to SellAnyCar’s next stage, as the used-car market becomes more digital, more transparent and more dependent on accurate valuation technology.
Source of interview: CNN Business
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9prSouAFLsU?si=HG2ejqdsZEnJ1omR
About the Author
SayginYalcin Saygin is the Founder & CEO of the Middle East's (ME) first & largest car buying service, SellAnyCar.com and Founder of the first & largest online private shopping club in the ME, Sukar.com, which has been acquired by Souq.com, making him Partner at the Souq.com and Jabbar Internet Group, becoming the largest ecommerce company in the Arab world, with 3000+ employees. In its largest acquisition outside the US to date, Amazon.com has acquired Souq.com Group. He has been selected as a UBS Industry Leader, a network of Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals. He was also Advisory Board Member & Academic Lecturer of Entrepreneurship at the Canadian University of Dubai. He was referred to as "the region's online business guru" by the National newspaper in the UAE, while Arabian Business named him as "one of the region's finest young entrepreneurs and a major part of the entrepreneurial scene in recent years". Fortune magazine (mag) named him in the 40 under 40 list, as one of the most influential young people in business, Entrepreneur mag ME awarded SellAnyCar.com, with Saygin at its helm, as the "Fastest Growing Company in the ME", while the National newspaper sees it among a handful of tech companies to "have the potential to break the $1bn barrier". In a cover story, Entrepreneur mag ME titled him as "undoubtedly one of the youngest & most successful internet entrepreneurs in the ME”, awarded SellAnyCar.com as "Technology Innovator of the Year”, while Khaleej Times awarded him as the Technology Leader. Gulf Business selected him as 1 of the Top 10 Entrepreneurs in ME. In a cover story, Arabian Business counts him as 1 of the most successful entrepreneurs to call Dubai home. During the World Government Summit, HH Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed, Minister of Interior of the UAE, presented Saygin as an inspiring story for the country, in the presence of world leaders, incl. HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
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