e& announced the signing of a binding agreement with Uber and its subsidiary Careem to acquire a majority stake in Careem’s Super App spinout.
Read: Digital Offerings in MEA: Superapps in Service
e& is investing $400 million to become a majority shareholder in Careem's Super App alongside Uber and all three of Careem's co-founders. The Careem Super App offers over a dozen services, including food and grocery delivery, micro-mobility, a digital wallet and suite of fintech services, and additional third-party services such as home cleaning, car rental and laundry.
With this new investment, Careem plans to accelerate the realization of its ambitious vision to create the first “everything app” serving customers across the Middle East. Careem expects significant synergies with e& and anticipates benefiting from e&’s large customer base and extensive experience scaling complex tech-enabled businesses across a largely shared geographic footprint.
This investment is in line with e&’s strategic ambition of scaling up consumer digital offerings and accelerating its transformation into a global technology and investment group. It provides e& with access to multiple digital verticals, new innovative digital services, strong talent, and new geographies. e& will leverage the Careem Super App to boost the growth of its consumer digital services, including the expansion of e& life’s fintech vertical, e& money, which will play an important role in the super app vision by providing e& money’s powerful financial service offerings.
Hatem Dowidar, Group CEO, e&, commented, “Super Apps have catalyzed the economic, social and cultural growth of emerging markets today. The popularity of super apps has come from the need to provide a unique and seamless customer experience. The mobile-first population have given rise to an ecosystem that has encouraged the use and also expanded the scope for super apps with user expectations turned towards performing their daily activities on digital platforms.
“The Careem Super App is a digital native that has built a rapidly growing payments, food and grocery delivery network and a platform for other digital businesses to scale from. The shared vision between e& and Careem is exciting; we believe that together we’ll be able to enhance our impact across different markets in the region while pushing the boundaries of customer experience.”
Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO, Uber said, “Over the last decade, Careem helped revolutionize mobility across the greater Middle East while building an incredible brand. I am thrilled to partner with Careem and welcome e&, as we grow the Careem super app to deliver more services to millions of people in this fast-moving part of the world. All of us at Uber are excited about the impact the Careem platform will have on this region over the next decade and beyond.”
Khalifa Al Shamsi CEO, e& life, said, “We are thrilled to welcome Careem into the e& family with this exciting and ground-breaking deal. There are several growth opportunities between Careem and e& life as the “consumer digital” arm of e&. Our current strengths, primarily in fintech and multimedia, coupled with Careem’s services and regional footprint, will accelerate our joint vision towards a regional super app. With this partnership between e&, Careem and Uber, we will set new standards of product innovation and customer experience throughout the region.”
Careem CEO and co-founder Mudassir Sheikha said, “The opportunity to use technology to leapfrog the lives of people in the region is enormous. Uber has been an incredible partner over the last three years as we expanded our mission to simplify the lives of people with everyday services beyond ride-hailing. We are excited to bring e& into the family. Their passion for uplifting the region and the synergies across their portfolio are extremely valuable. With two strong partners in e& and Uber, I have no doubt that we will build the preeminent technology platform of the region."
Completion of the transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals, customary closing conditions and administrative procedures.
