Covid-19 lockdowns impacted Careem, during the peak period ride-hailing was down more than 80%, it announced in May 2020 536 employees had been made redundant, representing 31% of its workforce.
However, it already had restructuring plans in place to diversify its range of services across the region. In this last year, Careem pivoted their business model from a purely ride-sharing app to a ‘Super-App’ which offers additional services such as grocery and courier deliveries.
A Careem spokesperson confirmed to Arab News that it has now hired more than 200 employees since May 2020, with CEO Mr Mudassir Sheikha commenting ‘some areas of the company had begun to see strong growth, and the company was looking forward to a full recovery to pre-pandemic business levels by the end of 2021.’
The admirable navigating of the company through the pandemic and successful pivot to the ‘Super-App’ is a testament to Careem’s leadership and strategic plan. Mr Sheikha believes there are huge opportunities to expand and deepen its “Super App” operations to more of the 15 countries and 100 cities it serves in the region.
In addition to the ‘Super-App’, Careem is also making waves by actively hiring female captains in Saudi Arabia and plans to make a greener car fleet by the introduction of EV’s (electric vehicles).
We are very proud to have Careem as our client and believe the company has a very interesting journey ahead. We look forward to witnessing their strategic vision unfold.