Careem in Pakistan

Careem in Pakistan—“the Uber of the Middle East”—has played a major role in transforming ride-hailing and digital services since its 2015 launch, but it’s now winding down operations due to economic and competitive pressures:

 Careem's Rise in Pakistan

• Launch & Impact (2015): Quickly became the country's leading ride-hailing service, pioneering digital payments, women drivers, and app-based taxis.

• Scale & Reach: Over 299 million rides completed in Pakistan by 2023, with more than 12 million registered customers and 820,000 Captains (drivers).

• Empowered 4.3 million women riders with safe transport and supported 1,685 female drivers, totaling 595,000+ rides by women captains.

 Expanded Services & Innovations

• Introduced Careem Now (food delivery) and Careem Pay (digital wallet, peer-to-peer transfers)—part of its broader Super App strategy.

• Launched Corporate Travel (Careem for Business) in 2023, with mass-commute (22-seat) vehicles, serving over 550 companies across major cities and helping businesses cut transport costs by up to 40%.

• Introduced Flexi Ride in 2023, a bidding-based model letting passengers propose fares, initially rolled out in Islamabad, Multan, and Faisalabad, with plans to expand.

• Launched the @Home program, enabling remote customer support roles and enabling home-based (especially female) employment.

 Decline & Exit

• Economic pressures (rupee devaluation, high inflation) and the entrance of low-cost competitors like inDrive and Yango led to a sharp market share drop—now Careem is a distant third with ~374k daily active users vs inDrive’s over 2 million.

• Shut down food delivery (June 2022) and digital payments (Sept 2023) in Pakistan due to economic constraints.

• Uber pulled out of Pakistan in 2022; Careem has now also confirmed suspending ride-hailing services by July 18, 2025, citing economic difficulty and fierce competition.

 Community & Local Impact

• Invested over PKR 100 million (2015–2019), creating 800,000 driver (Captain) jobs and serving 9–10 million customers across Pakistan.

• Strong safety focus: background checks via NADRA, partnerships with Mohafiz for 24/7 support, and gender-sensitivity training.

Phase                      Highlights

Launch                     2015—ride-hailing pioneer; digital payments & women drivers

Growth                     299M+ rides, 12M users, 820K Captains; expanded services

Innovation             Super App features—food, pay, corporate, Flexi Ride

Challenges             Economic downturn, competition from inDrive/Yango

Exit                             Food/pay closures, ending ride service July 2025