Bykea, stylized as BYKEA, is a Pakistani
ride-hailing service and parcel delivery company based in
Karachi
Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
. It was founded by Muneeb Maayr in 2016.
History
Bykea was started in December 2016 in
Karachi
Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
, Pakistan. The company currently operates in four Pakistani cities:
Karachi
Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
,
Lahore
Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
,
Islamabad
Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...
, &
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...
.
In 2018, Bykea partnered with
Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, a Pakistan-based digital communications company, to provide enhanced digital connectivity and efficiency to users. In 2018, Bykea and MJSF (Mahvash and Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation) joined for the Bikers Support Scheme.
In 2019, Bykea raised $5.7 million in series A funding from local and international institutions.
In the midst of the
COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan
The COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan is part of the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have reached Pakistan on 26 February 2020, when two cases w ...
, Bykea had secured a $13 million investment. However, due to the government's ban on
pillion riding to combat the virus, investors reneged on the deal.
Services
Bykea enables a crowdsourced network of motorbike owners to transport people, parcels, on-demand shopping, and payments within a city.
In early 2022, Bykea added rickshaws. In mid-2022, they started offering AC and non-AC in their ride-hailing service.
See also
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Platform economy
The platform economy encompasses economic and social activities facilitated by digital platforms. These platforms — such as Amazon (company), Amazon, Airbnb, Uber, Microsoft and Google — serve as intermediaries between various groups of users, ...
*
Vehicle for hire
A vehicle for hire is a vehicle providing private transport or shared transport for a fee, in which passengers are generally free to choose their points or approximate points of origin and destination, unlike public transport, and which t ...
*
List of gig economy companies
The following is a list of gig economy companies. The list includes only companies that have been noted by sources as being former or current gig economy companies.
Background
The Congressional Research Service defines the "gig economy" as: the c ...
External links
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References
{{reflist
Companies based in Karachi
Logistics companies of Pakistan
Pakistani companies established in 2016
Transport companies established in 2016
Ridesharing companies
Pakistani brands
Location-based software
Transport Network Companies