China’s Didi Chuxing invests in Dubai-based ride app Careem

Dubai-based ride app Careem on Tuesday announced an investment from China’s Didi Chuxing.

The undisclosed sum will be used to “strengthen” Careem’s market position and enhance its “transportation offerings” across the Middle East and North Africa, the company said.

The two will also share knowledge in intelligent transport, technology, product development and operations.

“Didi Chuxing brings leading edge AI capabilities, insight and expertise to our organisation as we enter our next phase of growth,” said Careem CEO and co-founder Mudassir Sheikha.

Didi Chuxing is 20 per cent owned by Careem’s rival Uber after an agreement in August last year that saw the US company hand over its Chinese operations in exchange for the stake and a $1bn investment.

However, the firm has also acquired stake in companies competing with Uber across the globe including Europe and Africa service Taxify, Lyft in the US, Ola in India and Grab in Southeast Asia.

The Careem partnership extends its reach to 60 per cent of the world’s population across 1,000 cities in North America, Southeast Asia, South Asia and South America.

The company currently offers “mobility options” to 400 million users in 400 cities with daily ride volume surpassing 20 million, according to the announcement, and is looking to build “an open and sustainable global mobility ecosystem to advance transportation innovations”.

The Careem partnership extends its reach to 60 per cent of the world’s population across 1,000 cities in North America, Southeast Asia, South Asia and South America, Didi said.

Careem’s customer base currently stands at more than 12 million and the company is present in 80 cities across Middle East and North African countries including Turkey, Pakistan and Palestine.

Read: Dubai taxi hailing app Careem expands into Palestine

The firm recently announced a $500,000 investment in Egyptian transport start-up Swvl and has also launched courier delivery services in some markets.

Read: Dubai-based ride sharing app Careem buys stake in Egyptian transport start-up