In a recent statement the ride-hailing company Careem revealed that it has secured $200 million in funding from its existing investors and that they expect to raise more to finance expansion plans.
Reuters revealed that the latest investment has given the ride-hailing company an estimated valuation of over $2 billion. In December 2016, Careem was estimated to be worth around $1.
Careem is the main regional rival of Uber Technologies and they are expected to raise a total of over $500 million in its latest funding effort to expand into mass transportation, deliveries, and payments. It has also been revealed that Careem has been in early talks to raise as much as $500 million from investors.
Careem Co-Founder and Chief Executive Mudassir Sheikha speaking to the news said, “Internet-enabled services are having a profound and positive impact on our region, where the consumer internet opportunity is huge and untapped.” Furthermore, according to him Careem, founded in 2012 has 30 million registered users in over 120 cities in the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, and Pakistan.
The $200 million investment has come from existing investors that include Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding, Al Tayyar Group, STV, and Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten. Careem also counts German carmaker Daimler and China’s largest ride-hailing company DiDi Chuxing as its backers.
This year Careem has expanded into new markets i.e. Sudan and also has started trialing food delivery services after buying a restaurant listing and reservation online platform.
It also has been reported that in July Careem is planning to spend up to $150 million to launch their food delivery business following the acquisition of the restaurant platform RoundMenu.
