e& Invests $400 Million in Uber’s Careem Super App Spinout

Technology and investment group e& has acquired a majority stake in the Careem super app.

With the firm’s investment of $400 million — the completion of which is subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions — the Careem super app will spinout from Uber Technologies subsidiary Careem, the companies said in a Monday (April 10) press release.

Uber retains 100% ownership of the Careem ride-hailing business, will be a significant shareholder of the new Careem Super App business and will continue to offer the ride-hailing business through the app, according to the release.

With the new investment, Careem will expand the app that is now used in 10 countries across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, adding new partner services to the core food, grocery and FinTech services that it currently offers, the release said.

“The opportunity to use technology to leapfrog the lives of people in the region is enormous,” Careem CEO and Co-founder Mudassir Sheikha said in the release. “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.”

Uber bought the Dubai-based ride-hailing startup in 2019 for $3.1 billion. Although Careem became a wholly owned Uber subsidiary, it continued to operate under its own brand.

Careem’s geographical footprint largely overlaps with that of e&, which was founded in Abu Dhabi as the UAE’s first telecommunications company was formerly known as Etisalat Group and now operates in 16 countries across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

With its investment in the Careem Super App, e& will continue to scale up its consumer digital offerings, according to the release.

“The popularity of super apps has come from the need to provide a unique and seamless customer experience,” e& Group CEO Hatem Dowidar said in the release. “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 announcement of this investment comes seven months after e& and MoneyGram expanded their partnership to enable nearly 160 million people to use the e& mobile wallet to send money around the world in near real time.