Careem, a leading ride-hailing service, has grown its presence to more than 80 cities in the broader Menatp region, growing at over 30 per cent month-on-month during the five years after its launch.

It has turned itself into one of the region’s biggest home-grown success stories and a poster child for the thriving start-up scene, drawing in a steady stream of funding and expertise from renowned regional and international investors to become the region’s sole billion-dollar internet company – and a self-proclaimed ‘unicamel’.

“We are extremely proud of what we have accomplished in these five years and are humbled by the impact that our technology and our service has had on people’s lives and livelihood, but this is really just the start,” said Mudassir Sheikha, co-founder and CEO of Careem.

“It’s the next five that excites us, not least because of the scale of our ambition, which sets before us the goal of steering our cities toward a driverless future and turning Careem into a world-class institution for research and innovation.

“However, it’s our Captains who have been the backbone of our company – they are the most important factor in delivering the right quality of experience to our customers, and I would like to take this moment to thank them for driving Careem into the hearts and minds of people across the region during our journey thus far,” he added.

As a token of its appreciation, Careem has launched a campaign asking its customers to help put a smile on their Captain’s face for the week after to the company’s fifth birthday. Customers are encouraged to gift their Captains off-the-wall gifts and share it on their social media channels with the hashtag #MyCaptain to get a chance to win Dh5,000 ($1,360). The Captain of the winning customer will also win Dh5,000.

Careem currently has more than 250,000 Captains on its roster, many of whom work exclusively with Careem, helping the company expand into new cities and deepen its presence in existing markets.

Building on its commitment to using technology and research to redefine mobility in the Middle East and beyond ,Careem has been focusing its efforts on strengthening its innovation capabilities and investing in the future of transportation to create sustainable value for the communities it serves.

Since its inception in July 2012, Careem has delivered a safe and comfortable ride to over 10 million users across the region, and the company currently serves the needs of customers in more than 80 cities in 13 countries.

 “We are at a time when tech start-ups in the Middle East are attracting renewed interest from globally reputable investors, all of which makes the environment ripe for bringing new innovations to market that will transform the way we get around and bring lasting change to the region,” Sheikha said. – TradeArabia News Service