Multinational telecommunications services provider e&, formerly known as Etisalat Group, is investing $400 million in the Super App of the Dubai-based quick-commerce platform Careem.
The investment seeks to further bolster the expansion of Careem’s Super App which offers services including food and grocery delivery, micro-mobility, a digital wallet and a suite of fintech services.
The ‘Super app’ was rolled out in 2021 to offer all its services including ride-hailing, food delivery as well as Careem Pay services to all its users on a single platform.
Currently, Careem serves customers in 10 countries across the Mena region and South Asia.
In 2022 in the UAE alone Careem’s grocery delivery service Quik increased 46-fold, with its food orders skyrocketing by 86 per cent.
Over the course of the year, Careem Pay launched as a fintech platform in the UAE with a digital wallet and payments products including bill payments, international remittances, domestic peer-to-peer payments and one-click checkout.
Careem intends to create the first “everything app” serving customers across the Middle East. This will entail expanding its food, grocery and fintech services and the Careem Plus subscription programme across the region while adding even more partner services to the app.
e& will seek to leverage the Careem Super App to propel the growth of its consumer digital services.
e& is the 18th largest mobile network operator in the world by number of subscribers.
As of now, the completion of the transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals, customary closing conditions and administrative procedures.
