Ride-hailing service Careem will end its services in Pakistan from July 18, with CEO Mudassir Sheikha explaining mounting challenges make it difficult to justify the investment required to sustain the service.
In a post on LinkedIn, Sheikha said it was an “incredibly difficult” decision to end the service a decade after it launched in 2015. “The challenging macroeconomic reality, intensifying competition, and global capital allocation made it hard to justify the investment levels required to deliver a safe and dependable service in the country,” he wrote, lamenting the “end of an iconic chapter.”
Recalling that Careem had overcome significant challenges in convincing women to travel with strangers and encouraging the use of smartphones and digital payments, he said it had enabled the creation of millions of jobs for captains—Careem’s descriptive of its ride-hailing drivers—across the country. Careem’s operations, he maintained, had paved the way for countless local and global digital ventures to take root in Pakistan.
According to the CEO, Careem would continue operating in Pakistan through Careem Technologies, which is building the ‘Everything App.’ He said the app was employing nearly 400 individuals nationwide and would continue to expand with over 100 open roles.
“Pakistan is in Careem’s DNA—our first line of code was written here, and the country remains a rich source of innovation and talent for us. Our commitment to Pakistan remains strong, and I sincerely hope to bring Careem’s services back to the country in the future,” he added.
Careem’s exit follows a similar decision from Uber in 2022. The past three years, with record-breaking inflation and stringent emphasis on fiscal discipline, have seen several startups related to ride-hailing collapse, including Airlift, Swvl and VavaCars.