Type Private Area served Worldwide | Headquarters Dubai, UAE Founded 2012 | |
Industry Technology, transportation network company Key people Mudassir Sheikha
Magnus Olsson
Abdulla Elyas Services Taxicab, Vehicle for hire Founders Mudassir Sheikha, Magnus Olsson Profiles | ||
Interview junaid iqbal ceo careem
Careem is a multinational transportation network company operating an app-based car booking service company based in Dubai. Riders can make requests for immediate or later scheduled pick-ups through the Careem phone app. As of March 2016, Careem is available in 11 countries and over 40 cities in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region.
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Origins
Careem was co-founded by Mudassir Sheikha and Magnus Olsson , who had both worked as management consultants at McKinsey & Company and started operating in July 2012.
It was started as a website-based service for corporate car bookings, and evolved to become an app targeting individuals looking to book a local car hire for everyday use. In 2014, the company merged with a Saudi-based home delivery service company and the founder, Abdulla Elyas joined Careem.
Investment
Careem has secured funding of 421.7 million U.S. Dollars to date with a start seed funding of 1.7 million U.S. Dollars in a round led by STC Ventures in 2013. This was followed over a year later with funding of 10 million U.S. Dollars led by Al Tayyar Travel Group and STC Ventures. In November 2015, Careem announced a Series C investment of US$60 million led by The Abraaj Group.
Controversy and criticism
Along with its competitor Uber, Careem faced heavy criticism in Egypt at the beginning of 2016 by local taxi drivers for operating without official taxi licenses. Egypt’s “white taxi” drivers organized several protests and sit-ins (white taxis are the standard taxi service that operates in Cairo) demanding that the Egyptian government intervenes to halt the activities of the car-hailing services. Citing that the companies were operating illegally and bypassing rules and regulations that governed taxi services in Egypt, including the heavy cost of acquiring a taxi license, 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 favour of Careem and Uber, ensuring that they can operate legally and provide legal protection for the drivers who had been facing attacks by both state police and angry taxi drivers.