Careem Is Raising $150 Million To Join The Food Delivery Rivalry

In a region crammed with competition like Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Zomato, and Talabat, the UAE-born Careem plans to raise $150 million to start its own Careem Food. With 24 million registered users, Careem's food delivery service will operate starting from Pakistan as soon as September, then other countries like UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt will follow.

Ever since it acquired the regional restaurant listing platform RoundMenu last February, Careem has been testing their food delivery services. RoundMenu has a presence in 18 cities across nine Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt.

In total, the company's board members are in talks with investors, who include German carmaker Daimler, China’s largest ride-haling firm DiDi Chuxing, and Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, to raise as much as $500 million, $150 of which they'll use for funding their Careem Food. 

Around 31 percent of the Emirati consumers use food apps to order food, while 21 percent use them to find new restaurants, according to KPMG, a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services.

The Middle East's already-crowded food delivery market is valued at $3.4 billion. According to Reuters, there is an increasing demand for delivery services in the Middle East, particularly in the Gulf where temperatures can soar above 50 degrees Celsius in the summer and isn't significantly cooler during other seasons.

Main Image courtesy of Careem.