Careem is a vehicle for hire company which is a subsidiary of American company Uber. It is based in Dubai, with operations in over 100 cities in 15 countries in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. The company was valued at over $2 billion as of 2018.
History
Careem was co-founded by Mudassir Sheikha, a native of Pakistan and Magnus Olsson of Sweden, who had both worked as management consultants at McKinsey & Company. It started operating in July 2012 as a website-based service for corporate car bookings, and evolved to become a transportation network company with car hire for everyday use. In 2015, the company acquired a Saudi-based home service company and Abdulla Elyas, joined Careem. 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 Middle East and North Africa region by the end of 2018. In January 2018 they became the first ride-hailing service to launch in Baghdad. The company also has locations in Najaf and Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. It was announced in February 2018 that Careem has acquired RoundMenu, a restaurant listing and food ordering platform that operates across the Arab world. In August 2018 Careem said they would be launching bus services, starting with cities in Egypt. In May 2019, Careem announced the acquisition of UAE-based bike sharing startup Cyacle which will re-brand as Careem Bike. On 27 February 2020, Careem announced that it will soon be launching Careem Pay, a digital wallet to replace cash payments.
Funding
Careem received seed money of US$1.7 million in a round led by STC Ventures in 2013. In 2014, it received funding of US$10 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 US$60 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 US$350 million in a Series D round, based on a $1 billion valuation for the company. Saudi Telecom in this funding round invested in a 10% stake in Careem. October 2018 company secure US$200 million funding from its existing investors. On March 26 2019, Uber agreed to acquire the company for $3.1 billion, including $1.4 billion in cash and $1.7 billion in convertible notes.
Careem Now
In 2018 Careem announced it was launching a food delivery service 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 April 21, 2020 the service expanded its Dubai service into delivering groceries and other essential products. On May 4 2020 Uber Eats announced they were exiting the United Arab Emirates and that their services would now be through Careem Now.
Women
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.
Layoffs
Due to the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Careem announced on its blog about laying off 31% of its workforce, amounting to 536 employees.
Criticism
Regulations
Taxi protests in Egypt
and Careem faced heavy criticism in Egypt at the beginning of 2016 by 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 because they "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.
Charity Work
Careem has been a supporter of Cricket for a Cause for the past two years and has supported the league's efforts to raise funds for children in developing nations. Moreover, in Pakistan, Careem and Robin Hood Army took the initiative to feed more than 10,000 people across the nation.
