Ride-hailing giant Careem is taking its place in the world of super apps

Ride-hailing giant Careem is taking its place in the world of super apps

The biggest service of its kind in the Middle East, Careem was acquired by Uber for $3.1 billion in 2020. Pandemic lockdowns left its cars empty, with ride-hailing down more than 80%, but the company already had plans to diversify its range of services across the region."Covid-19 has really been a booster," says Mudassir Sheikha, the CEO and co-founder of Dubai-based Careem. "Our customers were locked down, so they started asking, 'you have drivers, can you deliver my food?'"Careem now offers restaurant and grocery delivery, online shopping, e-bike booking and digital payments through a single app that launched in June. This move elevated the company to an exclusive club of applications providing multiple, integrated services: the super apps. In China, WeChat is considered a prime example of a super app. Established as a messaging service like WhatsApp, its 1.2 billion users can now book hotel or flight tickets, play video games, pay for utilities or public services and make digital transactions. It also allows third-party companies to develop services known as "mini-programs" on its app.Alongside WeChat, giants like China's Alipay and Singapore's Grab are already dominating the mature Asian market, offering mobile-based services that include car-sharing, digital banking, telecommunications and