Careem, a UAE-based chauffeur-driven car booking service in the Middle East, has received $1.7m financing led by STC Ventures, a venture capital fund independently managed by venture capital fund manager Iris Capital and whose anchor investor is the Saudi Telecom Company Group; the investment round included regional angel investors.
Careem currently serves Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Riyadh on careem.com and through its mobile apps, and plans to use the investment to strengthen its operating platform and expand to other cities of the Middle East.
Angus Paterson, partner at STC Ventures, said: “In Careem, we found a start-up that is leveraging technology to solve a real problem in the region, bringing tangible benefits to consumers and businesses.”
Mudassir Sheikha, co-founder of Careem, said: “We are very excited to have STC Ventures as an investor and partner. This investment will accelerate our regional expansion plans and further strengthen our operating platform that needs to cater to relatively complex logistics of the region.”
Careem was founded by Magnus Olsson and Mudassir Sheikha, both former consultants at McKinsey & Company.