Careem raises $60 million in new funding with The Abraaj Group as lead investor

Dubai: Careem, the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region’s locally founded app-based car service, on Tuesday announced $60 million (Dh220.38 million) fund arrangement with The Abraaj Group (Abraaj) as lead investor.

This funding represents one of the largest investments in the region’s emerging technology sector and will be used for expansion and innovation in Careem’s car service across its core markets in Mena, Pakistan and the wider region.

The latest fund raising marks the third round by Careem and sees Abraaj join other leading investors including Al Tayyar, STC Ventures, Beco Capital, Impulse (a subsidiary of Kuwait Investment Authority), Lumia Capital and Wamda Capital. Al Tayyar remains the largest institutional investor in Careem.

Founded in Dubai in 2012, Careem is an app-based car service currently operating in 20 cities from Morocco to Pakistan. In the last three years, the company has witnessed strong growth month on month of over 30 per cent across its core markets of the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Careem was founded by Magnus Olsson and Mudassir Shaikha, both former consultants at McKinsey & Company, and Dr Abdullah Elyas. It aims to become the biggest consumer logistics business in the region.

“As we successfully close our third round of funding, we welcome our new investors and partners into Careem. The Abraaj Group brings unique regional insights, proven execution capability, and global resources we consider critical to realising our mission of simplifying the lives of people in the region,” said Mudassir Shaikha, Careem’s co-founder and managing director.

Abraaj’s investment in Careem through its funds builds on its thesis of investing in enterprises that cater to rising levels of urban demand in global growth markets and recognises the relevance of technology-led, “sharing economy” businesses with strong management and growth trajectories.

“The transport industry is witnessing a positive disruptive revolution from the use of technology. The headroom for growth in the ride-share and taxi-app industry continues to be substantial and is proving out globally — and with our markets being no exception. We intend to equip this business fully to rise to the challenge — and take leadership of this segment,” said Mustafa Abdul-Wadood, Partner at The Abraaj Group,