Careem, the ride-hailing app, announces end of service in Pakistan from next month

Dubai: Careem, the popular ride-hailing application announced they will be suspending their operations in Pakistan.

According to reports by Pakistani media Dawn, social media users reported receiving a notification from the application announcing the end of the application in July, after nearly a decade in the industry.

Mudassir Sheikha, the CEO and co-founder of Careem also shared a post on LinkedIn, announcing the end of the application.

“It is with a heavy heart that I share this update: Careem will suspend its ride-hailing service in Pakistan on July 18. This was an incredibly difficult decision.”

He added, “The challenging macroeconomic reality, intensifying competition, and global capital allocation made it hard to justify the investment levels required to deliver a safe and dependable service in the country. In the end, the Careem Rides team has to make this tough call. It’s the end of an iconic chapter – one built with purpose, grit and a ton of relentless hustle.”

Mudassir then went on to share that while Careem Rides was ending, the applications journey in Pakistan will continue in a different role.

“Careem Technologies (the spinout building the Everything App) will continue to build from Pakistan for the region. Nearly 400 colleagues across all functions (including engineering) are building the Everything App and its ecosystem of verticals (food/grocery delivery, payments, and more,” he added.

Careem Rides was introduced when Uber ended its ride-hailing application in Pakistan, in 2015.