Careem rises as the UAE’s homegrown hero for door-to-door services

The result is a company that has carried its entrepreneurial roots into a new chapter, guided by the founders’ vision to simplify everyday life across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.

For the founders, e& brings far more than capital. Mudassir said, “What makes e& such a powerful partner is the way its entire ecosystem works as one. It’s a connected system built on shared technology, data and customer trust.”

This foundation lets Careem plug in seamlessly and unlock value at a completely different scale. “We now bring mobility, food delivery, grocery delivery, payments and DineOut into a single experience, and when customers use four or more services, their engagement grows by a factor of ten. The synergy potential is enormous, and it accelerates everything we’re building for the region.”

Mudassir says the platform, which serves over 75 million customers across 10 countries and more than 70 cities, is proof of what the UAE can build and ship: “Careem shows that world-class technology can be built in the UAE and shared across the region. We started with a purpose to simplify people’s lives and build an organisation that inspires, and we are still only at the beginning of what we can achieve.”

Careem’s long-term opportunity sits within one of the largest digital consumer markets in the world. Its total addressable market in the MENA region is valued at more than $500 billion.

But competition is steep. The UAE’s home-delivery scene is one of the fiercest in the world, with global and regional players vying for share in a market defined by high expectations and where customers can switch services with ease.

This is why Careem’s everything app strategy is so central to its future: the demand for seamless, technology-enabled services cuts across nearly every aspect of daily life, giving the company room to differentiate and grow while staying closely connected to the needs of its customers and Captains across the region.

A quintessential UAE homegrown brand

Founded in a country known for its remarkable mix of people, Careem is a product of its environment. The UAE is home to more than 200 nationalities, with expatriates making up roughly 88 per cent of the population, a blend that creates one of the most eclectic societies in the world. This diversity shapes daily life across the Emirates, and it shapes Careem as well.

Open the app and you’ll see that mix echoed in the cuisines available to order, from Emirati favourites and South Asian staples to Levantine street food, East Asian comfort dishes, and new global trends that reach the UAE long before they appear elsewhere.

The platform is a natural part of this melting pot, connecting millions ofusers in the UAE to tens of thousands of restaurant partners and hundreds of retailers. This combination of scale and cultural closeness is part of what makes Careem feel rooted in the national story, even as it serves millions more across the wider region.

“The UAE has been Careem’s home since day one – it’s where our story began and where we continue to grow. The sense of purpose, community, and scale of ambition here mirrors our own. It’s a place that makes you believe big ideas can be built, and that mindset continues to drive me and everyone at Careem every day.”

Supporting the UAE’s SME ecosystem

Perhaps the bigger story lies in the impact the platform has on the UAE’s small and mid-sized businesses, which remain central to the country’s economic strength and increasingly depend on Careem as a growth partner.

During the most challenging months of the pandemic, the company eased pressure on smaller restaurant partners by reducing commissions across key markets, including significant cuts for outlets with only a handful of branches. It later shifted to a fixed-fee model for restaurants, bringing commission rates down to a fraction of typical industry levels and giving independent operators more room to protect their margins.

Beyond merchant pricing support, Careem offers the kind of visibility and reach that many SMEs cannot build independently. Restaurants and retailers gain access to curated campaigns, targeted in-app promotions and high-intent audiences searching for their next meal, service or Quik shop. Careem Pay extends this support to online sellers. Its one-click checkout feature lets even the smallest merchant tap into millions of saved payment methods, reducing drop-off rates and helping drive consistent, higher conversion.

This commitment to SMEs is also seen in partnerships with homegrown brands, including FIX, a local success story which brought “Dubai chocolate” to the world. By bringing FIX onto the platform, Careem creates a space where two Made in UAE businesses strengthen each other. Customers discover a premium local brand with ease, while FIX gains access to a broad digital customer base without needing to scale its own logistics.

“Small businesses bring so much character and creativity to the UAE, and we want to give them every chance to grow. When a homegrown brand like FIX joins the platform, it becomes instantly accessible to customers. And they don’t need to build a delivery fleet or invest in big marketing campaigns. They can focus on what they do best while we help them reach more people,” says Mudassir.

O Captain! My Captain!

No celebration of Careem’s journey would be complete without recognising the people who make every order, ride, and delivery possible. The company’s Captains, over 3.5 million of them since inception, are the literal engine of the service, moving across cities every hour of the day to satisfy the cravings of millions of customers.

Many have built long-term careers on the platform, formed connections with customers, and become familiar faces in neighbourhoods across the Emirates. Their dedication sits at the heart of Careem’s story and gives real personality to its promise of simplifying everyday life.

To support them, the platform has integrated AI throughout its services, creating experiences that feel more intuitive for customers and more efficient for the people completing each job. In food delivery, for instance, AI is used to adjust Captain catchment areas in real time based on demand patterns. During peak hours or in busy neighbourhoods, the radius tightens so deliveries stay within the expected window.

“A customer might accept a wait of 30 or even 40 minutes, but when it approaches 50 minutes or an hour the risk of abandoning the order rises abruptly,” says Mudassir. “That kind of behavioural insight feeds directly back into the algorithm, guiding how delivery zones are organised and how Captain supply is managed, including incentive models that keep the network balanced.”

The broader goal is to create a platform that is predictive, seamless and secure across every touchpoint. AI helps Careem anticipate needs, reduce friction and make life easier for both customers and Captains.

As of today, over 85 per cent of customer care interactions are resolved through AI – a figure that is expected to increase in 2026. That same focus on convenience matters just as much to Captains, many of whom rely on the platform not only to earn but also to send money back home.

Transforming how the region moves money

Through Careem Pay, customers can send money abroad to 35+ countries, settle bills and recharge services, or transfer funds instantly to friends and family through peer-to-peer payments. These tools are especially useful for Captains and many residents who send money overseas. It’s no surprise then that remittances have become one of the platform’s strongest growth drivers, as sure a sign as any that faster, more convenient ways to move money have exploded in popularity.

Careem’s broader trajectory shows a platform gaining depth, scale and customer commitment at remarkable speed. Careem Plus members have become a powerful anchor for this growth, contributing more than 55 per cent of total GTV in the second quarter and relying on an average of 2.7 services each month.

The platform continues to widen its reach as well, recently expanding food delivery to Al Ain and Sharjah and launching grocery services in Riyadh. Together, these shifts show how quickly customers are deepening their engagement with the app and how firmly Careem is embedding itself in the region’s day-to-day.

So, the next time you see that black-on-green smiley face winking in traffic or on your screen, think of it as another reminder of how far the UAE has come. A Captain threading through the city, a neighbourhood restaurant reaching new customers, a simple tap that sets a whole ecosystem into motion. It stands for more than a delivery or a transaction. It represents a country where ideas grow quickly, where people from everywhere help shape daily life, and where a homegrown company can become part of the rhythm of the nation.