Careem CEO on a decade of growth and 'decacorn' ambitions: Business Extra

Mudassir Sheikha reflects on his biggest lessons learnt and what's next for the Uber-owned company as it moves beyond ride-hailing

Careem CEO on what's next after a decade in business

Biz Extra Careem

Careem became the Middle East's first unicorn, a start-up with a valuation of at least $1 billion, in 2016 and three years later was bought by Uber for $3.1bn.

The deal allowed the company to continue to operate independently, and today, its co-founder and chief executive Mudassir Sheikha says it was only the beginning: he plans to stay with Careem as it reaches for 'decacorn' status — a company valued at $10bn.

As Careem celebrates its 10-year anniversary this week, Mr Sheikha is seeking new funding, hires and acquisitions as he leads the expansion of a super app, going into services beyond ride-hailing to include food and grocery delivery, financial services and new partner services including car rental and home cleaning.

He joins co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner this week to reflect on the past decade and talk about what is still to come.

In this episode

Careem after a decade (0m 13s)

Growth with Careem's super app (3m 44s)

User growth v profitability (9m 15s)

The lessons learnt (14m 42s)

Emerging markets, entrepreneurial trends and what's next for Careem (19m 45s)

Read more

Dubai's Careem acquires money transfer platform Denarii in FinTech push

Careem acquires UAE food delivery platform Munch:On

Careem rental bike fleet to double in size as Dubai embraces cycling

Uber agrees to buy Careem for $3.1 billion in biggest ever tech deal for region

Updated: February 06, 2023, 7:10 AM