Careem’s customers can order a chauffeur-driven car on careem.com or through Careem’s proprietary mobile apps, track their rides in real-time, pay with credit cards, and access receipts online. Established in July 2012, Careem is focused on serving the Middle East market and currently operates in the UAE, Qatar and Saudi markets and is set to expand into further regional territories. The team behind Careem is spread between Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Karachi, Boston, and San Francisco.
The company was established in July 2012 by former McKinsey & Company consultants Magnus Olsson and Mudassir Sheikha. The startup is also serving corporates, which have signed up all their staff and pay through monthly invoices. Currently, Careem is operating more than 1,000 cars across its network in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Riyadh.
STC invested in the business before in 2013, when it led a similar round worth $1.7m that also included angel investors.
Angus Paterson, Partner at STC Ventures, had this to say about the business, “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. The company is led by an exceptional team who have achieved impressive traction in a very short space of time. We are thrilled to be on-board their next phase of growth.”
The Careem deal was worked on by Angus Paterson and Alex Wiedmer of Iris Capital, manager of STC Ventures.