KARACHI: UAE investor e& announced on Monday the signing of a binding agreement with Uber Technologies Inc and its subsidiary Careem to acquire a majority stake in Careem’s Super App spinout.

e& is investing $400 million to become a majority shareholder in Careem’s Super App alongside Uber and all three of Careem’s co-founders. The Careem Super App offers over a dozen services including food and grocery delivery, micro-mobility, a digital wallet and suite of fintech services, and additional third-party services such as home cleaning, car rental and laundry. Careem serves customers in 10 countries across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.

Careem’s ride-hailing business will remain fully owned by Uber and continue to be available with all other Careem services on the existing app for customers.

“This investment is in line with e&’s strategic ambition of scaling up consumer digital offerings and accelerating its transformation to a global technology and investments group,” it said.

The investment provides e& with access to multiple digital verticals, new innovative digital services, strong talent and new geographies, it added.

e& will leverage the Careem Super App to boost the growth of its consumer digital services, including the expansion of e& life’s fintech vertical, e& money, which will play an important role in the super app vision by providing e& money’s powerful financial service offerings.

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2023