“Careem, which launched in 2012, is now active in more than 80 cities in the broader Middle East and boasts over 10 million users. ‘The opportunity for further expansion in this region is huge,’ said Careem co-founder and chief executive Mudassir Sheikha.
With the rise of Uber and car-sharing services like Zipcar, young drivers are increasingly using shared-vehicle services rather than buying and owning cars in emerging economies in addition to developed markets.” – Nicolas Parasie and William Boston, WSJ
“Interestingly, having DCM and Coatue participate in this round marks the first time that Careem has had Silicon Valley investors backing it. It’s part of a larger trend of investors and tech companies starting to pay a lot more attention to the region as a new growth area. Big deals like Amazon’s acquisition of Souq, and the acquisitions that retail and real estate giant Emaar is making to consolidate regional e-commerce and logistics players, are also both signs of how the strongest startups in the Middle East are sprouting.
‘Overall, I feel the Middle East is more on the map than ever before,’ Sheikha said. ‘We always knew the opportunity: 700 million people, 10 percent of global population are here. But the opportunity is so fragmented. There is no one Brazil or India, and infrastructure is still lacking and wealth is unbalanced, but it’s still a big, exciting opportunity.'” – Ingrid Lunden, TechCrunch