Middle Easts based cab hiring behemoth, Careem has revealed that it has raised a substantial $200 million from its existing investors. As per Reuters, the company is expecting to broaden its financial horizons with the help of this investment.
Careem, which is backed by legends like the German automobile maker Daimler and China’s very own Didi Chuxing, was estimated to worth close to $1 billion in December 2016.
Reuter’s report states that this latest investment, combined with the funds raised in the past and the expansion of the company into various other segments, have earned them an evaluation of $2 billion.
Dubai based Careem, which also happens to be the biggest regional competitor to Uber, stated that they were expecting to raise over $500 million through their latest funding campaign, and then leverage the funds to broaden their transportation, deliveries and payment services.
Careem co-founder and chief executive Mudassir Sheikha said:
Internet-enabled services are having a profound and positive impact on our region, where the consumer internet opportunity is huge and untapped.
Established in 2012, the ride hailing company boasts of more than 30 million registered customers across 120 cities across Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and Pakistan.
The latest $200 million has come from Careem’s existing investors which comprise of Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding, Al Tayyar Group, STV and Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten.
Careem has been undertaking new ventures this year, and the most prominent one’s include its expansion into the markets of Sudan, and entry into food delivery business. This might be raising alarms in the San Francisco headquartered Uber, which is planning to go public next year and is expected to be worth $120 billion as per Wall Street Journal’s report. Middle east is an important market and so far, Uber has been unable to establish a substantial foothold. And Careem’s latest funding round is definitely not going to help.
