Careem: The $3.1 Billion Exit, and Why It Stopped Driving in Pakistan

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Careem is one of the great success stories of tech in the Muslim world. Started in Dubai in 2012 by Mudassir Sheikha and Magnus Olsson, two former McKinsey consultants, it became the ride hailing app of the Middle East and Pakistan. In 2019 Uber agreed to buy it for $3.1 billion, the biggest tech deal the region had seen.

Six years later, on 18 July 2025, Careem switched off ride hailing in Pakistan, one of the first big markets where its green cars had become part of daily life. This is the story of both moments, and what the ledger says about the space in between.

A website for company cars

Careem did not start as an app for everyone. Its first product was a website that let companies book cars for their staff. That gave it paying business customers from day one and taught it how to manage drivers, whom it called captains, before it opened up to the public.

As smartphones spread, Careem moved to an app and expanded fast across the Gulf, Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan, where it ran in cities such as Karachi and Lahore. It built its service around local habits and quickly became a household name.

The Uber deal

Careem and Uber spent years fighting for the same riders. In March 2019 they stopped. Uber agreed to buy Careem for $3.1 billion, made up of $1.4 billion in cash and $1.7 billion in convertible notes, which could later turn into Uber shares. The deal completed in January 2020, though approvals in Pakistan, Qatar and Morocco were still pending at that point.

Unusually, Uber kept the Careem brand alive and ran the two side by side. Mudassir Sheikha stayed on as chief executive. His note to Uber's staff was gracious: "we have a great deal of respect for Uber from our days of competing with you."

For the region, the deal mattered more than the money. It proved that a startup built in the Middle East could be sold for billions, and it gave early employees and investors cash to start the next wave of companies.

Then the pandemic

Just weeks after the deal closed, Covid emptied the roads. In May 2020 Careem cut 536 jobs, 31 percent of its workforce.

The company used the pause to change shape. It pushed into food and grocery delivery and payments, aiming to become a super app, one app for many daily needs. In 2023 Careem split in two, a deal that completed in December that year. Uber kept the ride hailing business. The super app, called Careem Technologies, took a $400 million investment from e&, the UAE telecom group, which took a 50.03 percent majority.

Why ride hailing ended in Pakistan

On 18 June 2025 Sheikha announced on LinkedIn that Careem would suspend ride hailing in Pakistan from 18 July, after nearly a decade there. He pointed to a "challenging macroeconomic reality," "intensifying competition," and "global capital allocation," which made it hard to justify the investment needed for a safe and dependable service. Reuters reported that cheaper rivals, Yango and inDrive, had grown in Pakistan's big cities.

Read in ledger terms, that means three things. Pakistani fares are low in dollar terms, so each ride earns very little for a company that reports in dollars. Rivals were willing to charge even less. And head office had better places to spend the same money, in richer Gulf markets where each ride earns more.

Careem did not leave Pakistan completely. Dawn reported that nearly 400 people in Pakistan were still building the super app for the region, with over 100 open roles.

The latest chapter

In June 2026, Uber agreed to buy a 12.5 percent stake in the Careem super app from e& for $100 million in cash, Wamda reported, lifting Uber's position and cutting e&'s stake to 37.53 percent, subject to approvals.

What the ledger teaches

Careem's founders built something valuable and sold it at the right moment. That is a real success, and it changed how investors see the region.

The Pakistan exit is a different lesson. A brand that everyone knows can still lose a market if each ride does not pay for itself. When a global owner compares returns across countries, small margins in a weak currency are the first to be cut.

Questions to ask about any ride hailing or delivery app

• How much does the company earn per trip after paying the driver and discounts?
• What happens when a cheaper rival enters?
• Does the owner compare this market with richer ones when deciding where to invest?
• Can the business survive without new funding?

The ledger

Munshi's noteBeing first builds a brand. Staying in a market depends on whether each ride pays for itself.

Sources

1. The National, 5 January 2020Uber completes $3.1 billion deal to buy Dubai's Careem
2. Dawn, January 2020Uber completes acquisition of Careem
3. Dawn, 19 June 2025Careem to suspend ride hailing services in Pakistan
4. Wamda, 2 June 2026Uber increases Careem ownership with $100 million stake purchase from e&
5. WikipediaCareem

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