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On Monday, e& announced that it had signed a binding agreement with Uber, on the basis of which e& will acquire a majority stake (50.03%) in the Careem Super App, while Careem’s business will remain. The taxi services are wholly owned by Uber and are available with all other services provided by Careem to customers on the current application.
With this $400 million (AED 1.5 billion) investment, A& becomes the majority shareholder in the Careem Super App, along with Uber and all Careem co-founders. The application provides customers with more than a dozen services, including; Food and grocery delivery services, micro-mobility, electronic payment, and a range of financial technology services, in addition to many other services such as house cleaning, car rental, and laundry. Careem provides its services in 10 countries spread across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.
The investment value will be financed from the current cash balance.
With this new investment, Careem is pursuing its ambitious vision of creating the first “everything app” that will serve customers in the Middle East. This will include enhancing the range of food delivery, grocery, financial technology services and the Careem Plus subscription program across the region, as well as adding more partner services to the app. Careem expects to achieve significant integration with E&, while benefiting from the group’s large customer base and its extensive experience in expanding business across common countries and regions in which both parties operate.
This investment is also in line with E&’s ambitious strategy of expanding the range of services and digital offerings to consumers, thus contributing to supporting its transformation into a global technology and investment group. This investment will also give e& the opportunity to access many digital sectors, launch more new and innovative digital services, and expand to new regions and countries. e& will also employ Careem Super App to promote the growth of its digital services to consumers, including financial technology services from e& money of e& life, which will play a pivotal role in achieving the vision of Careem Super App, by providing strong financial services offerings from « E & Money.
In recent years, E& has succeeded in becoming a global technology and investment group, while integrating emerging technologies into its various business sectors. Today, E& offers its leading and innovative digital services to more than 163 million subscribers spread across 16 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
On this occasion, Hatem Dowidar, CEO of A&E, said: “Today, Super Apps have succeeded in stimulating and supporting economic, social and cultural growth in emerging markets, due to the great popularity of these applications, which came from the need to provide unique digital experiences. and smooth for customers. The first generation of users who grew up using mobile phones contributed to the emergence of a business environment that encouraged the spread of such applications, which contributed to increasing the number of customers who perform their daily activities and interactions through these innovative digital platforms.
He added, “The Careem Super App is a digital app that has evolved naturally by creating a fast-growing food and grocery delivery network, and a trusted platform for startups as they pursue their expansion ambitions. The common vision between E& and Careem is certainly a vision that supports the realization of the ambitions and aspirations of both parties. From here, I am confident that together we will be able to enhance our role in the various markets in which we are present, especially by providing pioneering and innovative digital solutions and services that meet the current and future needs and requirements of customers.
For his part, Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, said: “Over the past decade, Careem has revolutionized transportation in the Middle East. Today, we are pleased to continue working and partnering with Careem, and at the same time we welcome the accession of A&E. At this stage, we are keen to develop the Careem super application, in a way that enables us to provide more services and solutions to millions of people in this fast-moving and developing part of the world. We at Uber are certainly excited to see the impact Careem will have on this region over the next decade and beyond.”
Khalifa Al Shamsi, CEO of E & Life, said, “On this occasion, we would like to welcome Careem to join E & Life through this partnership, through which we look forward to benefiting from the many growth opportunities shared between Careem and E & Life, as they are The ‘digital consumer’ arm of the group, where we will work to employ our current capabilities, especially in the field of financial technology and multimedia, in addition to the services of the “Careem” company and its wide reach in the region, in achieving our common vision of enabling the Careem Super App to enhance its position and regional leadership. Today, through this partnership between e&, Careem, and Uber, the opportunities for us to set new standards for innovation in digital services and offerings, and to provide unique and unprecedented experiences for our customers across the region are great.”
Mudassir Sheikha, Co-Founder and CEO of Careem, said, “We are confident that the opportunity to use technology to improve and improve the lives of people in the region is a huge opportunity. Over the past three years, Uber has been able to be a great partner, as together, by providing a list of services and solutions, we have made people’s lives easier and smoother.
