It’s 8:15 PM in Dubai’s Jumeirah district when Fatima taps “Ride” in the Careem app. Sixty seconds later, a Captain arrives—smiling, professional, and armed with charging cables for her phone. As dusk deepens, Fatima navigates through a tapestry of services in the same interface: she’s scheduled groceries for tomorrow morning, settled her electricity bill via Careem Pay, and even booked a table at her favorite shawarma spot. What began as a simple ride-hailing service in 2012 has, by 2025, evolved into a full-blown “super app”—a digital butler for everyday life across West Asia.
Careem’s story starts on a dusty Dubai street in early 2012, when Magnus Olsson and Mudassir Sheikha launched an app to solve a basic problem: unreliable taxis and cash-only bookings. Within months, the “Careem Captain” model—independent contractors using their own cars—caught on, filling gaps that traditional operators couldn’t. By 2015, Careem was operating in 30 cities across 10 countries, completing over 10 million rides per month and outpacing local competitors. The company financed expansion through successive funding rounds, culminating in Uber’s US $3.1 billion acquisition announced in March 2019—a landmark deal that underscored Careem’s indispensible foothold in the Middle East and North Africa.
The acquisition freed Careem to pursue a broader vision—one inspired by Asia’s WeChat and Grab: a single platform for mobility, deliveries, payments, and beyond. In June 2020, Careem unveiled its Super App strategy, bundling ride-hailing with grocery and restaurant delivery, a digital wallet, micro-mobility rentals, and even laundry and home-cleaning services. Overnight, the app transformed from a point-to-point transport solution into a digital ecosystem, letting users tap into everyday services without downloading another app.
Central to the super app is Careem Pay, launched alongside the Super App. In a region where contactless payments lag global averages yet surged during the pandemic, Careem Pay filled a crucial gap. By 2023, contactless penetration hit 94% in Saudi Arabia and 84% in the UAE, driven partly by super-app wallets like Careem’s that integrated seamlessly with ride and delivery services. Careem Pay’s P2P transfers, bill payments, and in-app top-ups accounted for over 25 million transactions in Q1 2025 alone, reducing cash handling and unlocking new revenue streams through nominal fees and float interest.
Careem’s growth wasn’t just about adding features; it was about tailoring each service to local realities. In Pakistan—where cash remains king—Careem introduced “Cash on Delivery” for deliveries and rickshaw bookings via voice-command features suited to low-literacy users. In Egypt, the app partnered with local grocery chains to stock region-specific staples, from ful medames to fava beans, ensuring that delivery felt less foreign tech and more neighborhood corner store. These adaptations drove downloads—Careem crossed 50 million installs across Android and iOS by mid-2024—and fostered trust among diverse user bases.
While Uber retained ride-hailing operations, it spun out Careem’s Super App into Careem Technologies in April 2023, selling a majority stake to Emirates Telecommunications Group (e&) for US $400 million. This move created a standalone entity focused on non-ride services—unburdened by the profitability pressures of core mobility—backed by regional telecom investment and global expertise. The capital infusion funded further expansion into micro-lending, insurance brokering, and travel bookings—each new vertical reinforcing Careem’s role as a one-stop “digital butler”.
Late-Night Lifeline: In Riyadh, where women’s mobility has long faced restrictions, Careem’s female-captain initiative and discreet ride options have empowered thousands of women to travel safely after dark—connecting them to jobs, education, and healthcare appointments.
Refugee Resilience: In Amman’s overflow tent cities, refugees with limited bank access use Careem Pay for remittances and bill payments—sidestepping both cash-haul risks and restrictive local regulations.
Small-Business Booster: Dubai’s artisan hot spots—from Karama’s garment workshops to Al Fahidi’s coffee roasters—leverage Careem’s integrated delivery and payment APIs to sell online, tapping into regional and global marketplaces without building their own tech.
No super app is immune to macro headwinds. On June 18, 2025, Careem announced it would suspend operations in Pakistan, its decade-old foothold, citing an unfavorable economic climate and stiff local competition. After Uber had already exited Pakistan in 2022, this move underscored the challenges of sustaining super-app services amid hyperinflation and shrinking consumer spending. Careem’s leadership framed the exit as a chance to refocus resources on core markets—Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt—where digital-payment penetration and regulatory support remain strongest.
Leadership Vision: A Digital Butler for the Region
Co-founder and CEO Mudassir Sheikha envisions a platform that anticipates needs: “We’re not just booking rides or delivering groceries,” he told Rest of World in a recent interview. “We’re aiming to understand behaviors, simplify choices, and act as a digital butler for millions of people—helping them reclaim time and reduce friction in daily life”. This ethos drives Careem’s R&D: AI-powered predictive routing to minimize wait times, contextual recommendations for cross-service bundling, and a unified user-profile engine that learns preferences across transport, food, and payments.
The Road Ahead: From Super App to Life Platform
As 2025 unfolds, Careem is piloting two strategic innovations:
Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) Subscriptions: Bundling rides, micro-mobility (e-scooters, e-bikes), and car-sharing into monthly passes—targeting urban commuters keen on decarbonization and cost predictability.
Embedded Finance: Partnering with regional banks to issue co-branded cards and offer micro-loans for small vendors on its delivery marketplace—an evolution from wallet services to embedded fintech.
These moves could deepen engagement—users who begin with a ride may never leave the ecosystem—while generating fee income that buffers against the low margins of ride-hailing.
Careem stands among a global cohort: China’s WeChat and Alipay, Southeast Asia’s Grab and Gojek, India’s Paytm. Yet it is uniquely positioned in a region of high smartphone penetration, nascent fintech regulation, and a youthful demographic hungry for convenience. The super-app model here has become a cornerstone of digital economies: offering one app for many needs, localizing features to cultural norms, and integrating payments to keep value within the platform.
In a region where traffic snarls and fragmented services once defined urban life, Careem’s Super App promises a future of frictionless mobility, on-demand deliveries, and wallet-free transactions. From Fatima’s evening commute in Jumeirah to Salma’s midnight accounting class in Amman, the app has woven itself into daily routines—transforming services into seamless experiences. As Careem charts its next chapters—expanding embedded finance, deepening AI-driven personalization, and reinvesting in its core markets—it remains a bellwether for how super apps can reshape emerging economies. In West Asia’s digital renaissance, Careem has done more than deliver rides: it has delivered a blueprint for a more connected, convenient, and inclusive tomorrow.
