DUBAI — Careem, a UAE-based chauffeur-driven car booking service, currently serving Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Riyadh on careem.com and through its mobile apps, plans to use a $1.7 million cash infusion to strengthen its operating platform and expand to other cities of the Middle East. Careem announced on Monday that STC Ventures, backed by Saudi Telecom Company, led a $1.7 million investment round in the company that also included prominent regional investors to expand its car booking service across the Middle East. Mudassir Sheikha, co-founder of Careem based in Dubai noted, “We are very excited to have STC Ventures as an investor and partner. This investment will accelerate our regional expansion plans and further strengthen our operating platform that needs to cater to relatively complex logistics of the region.” Careem, which was started by Magnus Olsson and Mudassir Sheikha, both former consultants at McKinsey & Company, has experienced rapid growth in its first year of operation. Careem's customers, which include many businesses and relatively affluent consumers, can book a car for a precise time in the future or order it on-demand through Careem's website or its mobile apps. It currently has more than 1000 cars across its network in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Riyadh. “Our customer feedback has been fantastic. More than 90 percent of our customers consistently rate our service 5 out of 5 and user-referrals are the biggest source of our growth. We are looking forward to making our service available to more countries and consumers across the region,” added Careem co-founder, Magnus Olsson. Angus Paterson, Partner at STC Ventures, commented on the announcement: “In Careem, we found a start-up that is leveraging technology to solve a real problem in the region, bringing tangible benefits to consumers and businesses. The company is led by an exceptional team who have achieved impressive traction in a very short space of time. We are thrilled to be onboard their next phase of growth.” The Careem deal was worked on by Angus Paterson and Alex Wiedmer of Iris Capital, manager of STC Ventures. — SG
