Careem

Careem is 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 10 countries and 25 cities across the MENASA region with plans to develop other services and products, and expand operations into additional countries in the region in the near future.

Origins

Careem started operating in July 2012. It was initially co-founded by Magnus Olsson and Mudassir Sheikha, both of whom had previously worked as management consultants at McKinsey & Company. Citing the desire to create a company that can solve a significant local problem, Careem was established with the intention of solving the problem of car booking availability and reliability for corporate travellers– a common occurrence for Magnus and Sheikha during their frequent business trips while working for McKinsey and Company.

It was initially founded as a website-based service for corporate car bookings, and it then evolved to become an app after demand increased, shifting away from being a car service targeted at corporate clients to a service targeting individuals looking to book a local car hire for everyday use. The founders repeatedly stress in interviews with journalists that the company was founded on the principle that Careem would tailor its operations and services to each market that they enter, thus making it a local company that understands how to serve the individual needs of their clients.

Abdulla Elyas joined Magnus and Sheikha as the third co-founder in the summer of 2014. Elyas had founded his own company, Enwani, in 2012. Enwani set out to be an address mapping website and application aimed at solving the problem of map and address inaccuracy in Saudi Arabia.

Olsson, Sheikha and Elyas decided to join their two companies together to utilize the technology already produced and in place by Enwani, and to collectively solve transportation issues in the region, an objective that was shared by both companies.

Ethos and Values

Careem takes its name from the Arabic word kareem meaning generosity. The name of the company was selected on the premise that it reinforces the co-founders’ values of doing something meaningful with great impact for the region.

Investment

Careem was able to secure 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/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.