Naspers Ltd., the South African media conglomerate that owns a number of free classified sites and has invested in others, announced yet another relationship today. It has invested in Dubizzle.com, a Dubai-based classifieds and community site that operates in 14 countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

The investment was made by MIH Internet, the wholly owned division of Naspers. MIH Internet will open a new “hub office” in Dubai. Details of the investment were not disclosed.

“Having watched Dubizzle develop over the years into a classifieds platform that competes globally in terms of technology and features, made our investment decision very easy,” said Russell Dreisenstock, GM of business development at MIH Internet. “We see Dubizzle as an exciting example of what this region has to offer and look forward to future projects with as much potential.”

MIH operates KalahariAds in southern Africa, and owns some or all of Mail.ru in Russia, Tencent in China, Allegro, OLX and other major classified businesses. Dubizzle has sites for Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, KSA, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia and the UAE. Its sites are in English, French and Arabic.

“MIH Internet’s extensive knowledge of media and technology industries, as well as their experience in emerging markets, has made them a potentially ideal partner for organizations in the Middle East,” Sim Whatley, co-founder of Dubizzle.com, said in the company’s news release. “Dubizzle’s own alliance with MIH Internet has been instrumental in turning our creative ideas into thriving business platforms.” 

Here’s the release.