Profile of Careem International

Careem is an app-based car service that helps people to get rides by connecting passengers to
local drivers. It was co-founded in July 2012 by Mudassir Sheikha and Magnus Olsson. It is
based in Dubai. Currently its parent organization is Uber Technologies Inc., as it was acquired
by Uber recently in 2020. Careem is one of the biggest example of expansion of gig economy
mainly for Middle East region. This internet based service includes mass transportation, delivery
and payments. Careem services have expanded to more than 100 cities across 15 countries. In
addition to this, it has significantly played an important role in the region by providing more than
one million employment opportunities.

Brief history

Careem started its operations in Dubai in July 2012. It stepped forward to Saudi Arabia in 2015
in order to grow further where Abullah Elyas joined Careem. Later in 2016 they started their
services in Pakistan, followed by entering Palestine in 2017and Iraq and Egypt in 2018. The
reason of continuous expansion had a backed view of the commitment of creating one million
jobs by 2020.

Careem has also played an important role in providing job opportunities that reflect gender
equality. Women hiring in Careem can be seen in countries like Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and
Saudi Arabia. They even proposed maternity leaves programs in 2017 in order to promote
women hiring. Also, to continue their growth they took numerous prominent steps like launching
ride-hailing service in Baghdad in January 2018, acquiring RoundMenu in February 2018 which
is a restaurant listing and food ordering platform that operates across the Arab world, launching
bus service in Egypt on December 2018, acquiring Cyacle and re-branded it as Careem Bike.
Lastly on 27 February, 2020, Careem announced that it will soon be launching Careem Pay, a
digital wallet to replace cash payments.

Offerings

1. Car Rides: This was the basic service that Careem initiated with, where it connects the
passengers and local drivers (termed as captains). It provides captains with job
opportunities and with their convenience of either full time or part time work where as it
helps passengers have access to affordable and quick transportation.
2. Careem NOW: It is the food delivery service with the accessibility of tracking order
whether it’s being prepared in the kitchen, on the way or at the door.
3. Careem NOW for Business: this is the logistics service where companies deliver goods
to the customers through Careem.
4. Careem Pay: this is a safe cash payment service to pay for rides, deliveries and
packages or even send credits, split fares or send gifts to others simply by scanning
cards or entering card details manually.
5. Careem Bus: This includes bus rides with flat fares to commute conveniently anywhere
within the city
6. Careem Bike: It’s like a rented pedal-assisted bikes that are easy to access and
affordable. The bike unlocks by entering a five digit code on app and allows 45 minutes
 ride that can be extended by paying overtime fees. After then, the bike is returned to
careem Bike Station.

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Careem
2. https://blog.careem.com/
3. https://www.careem.com/