Careem

Careem is a Dubai-based super-app with operations in over 70 cities, covering 10 countries across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia regions. It offers ride-hailing, bicycle rental, food delivery, grocery delivery, and digital wallets. It is 50.03% owned by e&, while its ridesharing company is wholly owned by Uber.

History

Careem was founded by Mudassir Sheikha, an American Memon of Pakistani origin, and Magnus Olsson of Sweden, who had both worked as management consultants at McKinsey & Company. It started operating in 2012 as a website-based service for corporate car bookings, and evolved to become a ridesharing company with car hire for everyday use.

In 2015, the company acquired a Saudi-based home delivery service company, enwani, and Abdulla Elyas joined Careem as co-founder. In 2017, the company announced a program to extend maternity leave and hire more women.

In June 2017, Careem launched operations in Palestine as part of a commitment to create one million jobs in the MENA region by the end of 2018.

In January 2018, Careem became the first ride-hailing service to launch in Baghdad. The company also has locations in Najaf and Erbil, Kurdistan Region.

In February 2018, Careem acquired RoundMenu, a restaurant listing and food ordering platform that operates across the Arab world.

In August 2018, Careem announced the launch of bus services, starting with cities in Egypt in December 2018. The service was discontinued in early 2020.

In November 2018, it expanded into food delivery with the launch of Careem Now.

In May 2019, Careem announced the acquisition of UAE-based bicycle-sharing system startup Cyacle which was re-branded as Careem Bike. As of 2023, Careem Bike had 192 docking stations across Dubai. Following its UAE launch, Careem Bike launched 165 bicycle and scooter stations in the city of Madinah, Saudi Arabia, with nearly 2,000 customers traveling almost 60,000 km across the city on bicycles in 2023.

In January 2020, the company was acquired by Uber for $3.1 billion.

In May 2020, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Careem announced layoffs of 31% of its workforce, amounting to 536 employees.

It launched Careem Quik, a grocery delivery service in December 2020.

In April 2022, Careem launched Careem Pay, a digital wallet for money transfers and withdrawals in the UAE. Careem introduced a remittance corridor between the UAE and Pakistan in partnership with Lulu Exchange and in India in 2023, by the end of the year, Careem Pay's remittance service had maintained a user retention rate of 77% with an average transaction time of 15 minutes. Beyond P2P transactions through the Careem Pay digital wallet, Careem also offers a one-click checkout for e-commerce websites and bill payment amongst other services.

In June 2022, Careem suspended food delivery service in Pakistan due to the 2022 Pakistan economic crisis.

In February 2023, Careem ceased its operations in Qatar including ridesharing, grocery and food delivery, courier services, and digital payments without explanation.

In April 2023, Careem's Super App business was spun out into a new legal entity, which e& acquired a 50.03% stake in,

In August 2024, the company launched discounted packages for students.

In 2024, Careem introduced allowed users in Karachi to set a price of their rides.

In February 2025, the company launched money transfer services to 18 additional European countries.

In May 2025, the company began offering delivery of 24-carat gold coins. It also began delivery of labubus.

Funding

Careem received seed money of million in a round led by STC Ventures in 2013. In 2014, it received funding of million in a Series B round led by Al Tayyar Travel Group and STC Ventures.

In November 2015, Careem announced a Series C round investment of million led by The Abraaj Group. In October 2016, the company reached an agreement with regulators in Dubai whereby customers are able to book all taxicabs and limousines operating in Dubai via the Careem mobile app. In December 2016, the company raised million in a Series D round, based on a billion valuation for the company. Saudi Telecom in this funding round invested in a 10% stake in Careem. In October 2018, the company secured million funding from its existing investors.

In February 2018, the company raised $200 million at a valuation of billion.

On 26 March 2019, Uber agreed to acquire the company for billion, including billion in cash and billion in convertible notes, making Careem the first unicorn startup company in the Middle East outside of Israel.

In December 2023, e& acquired a majority stake in Careem's Super App business for a $400 million investment. Careem's ride-hailing business continues to be owned by Uber, while the Careem Super App is owned by e&, as well as Uber and all three of Careem's co-founders.

Since 2012, Careem has raised a total of US$772 million over 7 funding rounds, with participation by 28 institutional investors

Deliveries

In 2018, Careem announced it was launching an online food ordering app called Careem Now, delivering food and pharmaceuticals, initially in Dubai and Jeddah. In 2019, the service expanded into Riyadh and Amman, and announced it was also launching in Pakistan. On 21 April 2020, the service expanded its Dubai service into delivering groceries and other essential products.

On 4 May 2020, Uber Eats exited the United Arab Emirates and transferred its services to Careem.

Female participation

In Pakistan, Careem employs women drivers. Women are also employed as drivers in Egypt and Jordan. In Saudi Arabia, women make up 80% of the company's customers. Careem is planning to have a female workforce of 20,000 by the year 2020. In Saudi Arabia, Careem and Uber have started recruiting women, as part of the Saudi Women to drive movement. Women were legally allowed to start driving on 24 June 2018, and Uber and Careem women drivers were able to start working on the same day.

Criticism

Taxi protests in Egypt

Uber and Careem faced heavy criticism in Egypt at the beginning of 2016 from local taxi drivers for operating without official taxi licenses. Taxi drivers organized several protests and sit-ins demanding that the Egyptian government intervene to halt the activities of the TNCs. A committee was organized by the Egyptian government to assess the complaints of the protesting taxi drivers and standardize taxi services in Egypt. They ruled in favor of the TNCs, ensuring that they can operate legally and provided legal protection for the TNC drivers who had been facing attacks by both state police and angry taxi drivers.

Data breach

In January 2018, Careem discovered data on more than 14 million riders and 558,800 drivers were breached. The company waited until late April 2018, to disclose this breach as it "wanted to make sure we had the most accurate information before notifying people". According to investigations conducted by the company, there was no initial evidence of fraud or misuse.

Work culture and working conditions

Careem has faced a wave of criticisms centered around their work culture and hiring practices. These criticisms have been amplified through various social media platforms.

In a LinkedIn post from June 2023, Mudassir Sheikha outlined the type of professionals Careem is looking to hire. He stated that the company is not the right fit for those whose top priority is cash compensation although he highlighted that Careem offers competitive compensation. He also said that it's also not a right fit for those looking for a 9 to 5 job, or those who thrive with structure and certainty. He emphasized that Careem is more focused on impact and fulfilling its purpose rather than offering high cash compensation or a structured work environment. The post received a significant amount of backlash. Commenters argued that competitive cash compensation is essential for attracting high-quality talent and that neglecting this aspect could lead to high turnover rates. Others sarcastically remarked that who needs cash compensation when one can have the satisfaction of creating impact.

A Business Insider article highlighted the criticisms Mudassir Sheikha faced for his LinkedIn post. The article noted that tech workers took to the employee forum Blind to criticize the CEO's post as "tone-deaf" and "cringe." One comment translated the CEO's message as, "we’ll pay you peanuts, put you in a cramped space with little amenities, provide no training, work you till you burn out and quit so the execs and owners can get a fat payout on the back of your labor." The article also mentioned that many comments on LinkedIn took issue with the CEO's statement. The article also said that not all the comments were negative and that Careem continually benchmarks its salaries against a peer group of leading global companies. The article further quoted comments that praised the LinkedIn post for being "rare" and "honest". It also referenced an article from the UAE newspaper The National News reporting that "hundreds of Careem employees had walked out of the Uber acquisition millionaires due to the $3.1 billion payout".

According to the UAE-based newspaper Khaleej Times, Careem colleagues "rate their job satisfaction and loyalty o Careemway above tech industry averages". The article cited that Careem's unlimited leave policy "gives the company a competitive advantage when it comes to recruiting talent" and helps "reverse brain drain from the region".

Sustainability

Careem launched Careem Bike in partnership with the RTA in 2020 to support the UAE's target to cut emissions by 40% by 2030. In 2022, RTA announced that 2.8 million Careem Bike trips had been completed since its launch, reducing emissions by 1,926,033 kilograms, equivalent to emissions from 600 cars. 53% of Careem's trips in the UAE had been completed with hybrid or electric vehicles in 2023. In the same year, Careem expanded its EV fleet in Jordan to form 45% of the fleet in Irbid. Careem unveiled its plans to introduce Dubai's first fleet of electric motorbikes and charging station infrastructure at Careem Bike stations in 2024. The company announced that the electric engines are powered by 4,000 watt lithium battery packs that can be charged at 192 Careem stations across Dubai. The electric motorbikes aim to reduce the carbon footprint of delivery trips by up to 24 tonnes of C02 per day, and provide cost savings for Careem Captains. Careem introduced 'Eco-friendly' rides in 2023 during COP28 in partnership with CarbonSifr to support carbon removal projects in the UAE and the wider region, with customers' contributions going into supporting high-integrity environmental projects such as planting mangrove trees in the UAE. The initiative offset more than 200 tonnes of CO2e in under 3 months Following its success in Dubai, Careem's eco-friendly rides were launched in Abu Dhabi in 2024. Another such sustainability campaign was launched in collaboration with Careem and Mastercard, where for every Careem Pay wallet top-up transaction using a Mastercard debit card, Emirates Nature-WWF pledged to plant a mangrove in the UAE on behalf of the cardholder.

References

External links

*

{{Uber

Carsharing
Companies based in Dubai
Location-based software
Transport companies established in 2012
Uber acquisitions

2019 mergers and acquisitions
Emirati companies established in 2018