Careem Closes First Tranche in $500 Million Funding Round Led by Rakuten and Saudi Telecom Company
DUBAI, UAE, 19 December 2016 - Careem, the leading ride-hailing service in the Middle East and North Africa, introduced today an initial enclose its $500 million financing round. The investment of $350 million is co-led by Rakuten, Inc., a global leader in internet services and innovation headquartered in Japan, and Saudi Telecommunications Company (" STC"), the largest telecommunications operator in the Middle East. New and existing financiers include Abraaj Group, Al Tayyar Group, Beco Resources, El Sewedy Investments, Endure Funding, Lumia Capital, SQM Frontier and Wamda Resources among others. Rakuten executive and head of ride-sharing and fintech investments, Oskar Mielczarek de la Miel, and an STC Group executive will additionally join Careem's Board of Supervisors.
A local company established in 2012, Careem now operates in 47 cities throughout 11 untries and hosts over 6 million users and 150,000 Captains (drivers) in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region. The fundraise, sustained by Credit Suisse, is just one of the largest for an innovation company in the center East's history and a strong indication of Careem's ambitious vision. The funds will scale up Careem's transport services in existing and brand-new markets, increase innovation throughout its platform of high-frequency deals, and help Careem attain its goal of producing one million jobs in the region by 2018.
" We are influenced and humbled to work with world class strategic companions like. Rakuten and STC" stated Mudassir Sheikha, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Careem. "They not only bring significant institutional support for Careem's new horizons, but additionally global technology leadership and deep local experience bringing us closer to accomplishing our objective of enhancing the lives of every person in the region.".
" The MENA region has an expanding, connected, metropolitan population with excellent potential for trip hailing and other shopping services," said Oskar Mielczarek de la Miel,Executive Officer at Rakuten. "This investment straight lines up with Rakuten's vision for global innovation as Careem has demonstrated its capacity to scale to among the largest shared economy systems in the region, and to speed up the adoption of new transit options.
" We are excited to proceed a critical partnership that started in 2013 with STC Ventures' initial investment in Careem, and aid build a mobility platform throughout the MENA region," stated Dr. Khaled Biyari, CEO of STC. "Our financial investment is a clear bank on the future of mobility, calculated adjacencies, and Careem's technology leadership in the region".
