Most entrepreneurs speak they try to find a way to transform the world, by which they frequently mean that they wish to offer a good, or a service that everybody wants, making lives better or easier.
A handful of entrepreneurs that I have interviewed have an aim that appears higher, better and more challenging. They talk about creating an institution, one that will go on to make long-lasting changes over time and that will have a great influence on an entire region or business.
Mudassir Sheikha, who is a Stanford graduate, former McKinsey consultant and a co-founder of a brilliant taxi booking app ‘Careem’, which is known as the Uber of Middle East, stated that’s what he wants for his corporation.
“This area of 700m individuals has sadly struggled to create lasting corporate foundations,” said Sheikha in an interview directed by email & phone. He said that’s the reason why he wanted to build a Dubai-based Careem.
Q1. You’ve done your education at USC and Stanford, What is it about Stanford which makes it so familiar for their Alumni at the back lots of the world’s leading tech firms?
Stanford attracts truly smart, aim and mission-driven natives who believe in the supremacy of technology to enhance a person’s lives and transform the world. It’s stirring and overwhelming to be around them.
Also, there is no lack of successful position models amongst the alumni that have started from zero and built world-top institutions.
Q2. Will you please let us know how you came up with the concept of Careem?
Being consultants, I and my co-founder Magnus have traveled a lot. We’ve realized that there was a deficiency of dependable and expedient transportation systems. We analyzed the chance, found it too big and significant, and decided to start it with everything we had.
Now, we are the leading taxi-hailing service in this region with Users have the ease of a ‘Now’ or ‘Later’ feature, helping them to book a taxi, car in advance or car on demand.
A series of various car options cater to the different needs of the entire city in which we work, with Economy, Max and Business car options available across all the markets.
Our focus remains on knowing the requirements of our clients and captains in the area. In the UAE, for instance, we have Careem Kids – the devoted Careem car which comes pre-installed alongside a child seat – and Ameera – the first female chauffeur service for women in Dubai.
In Egypt, we incorporated Water Taxis onto our platform and in Saudi Arabia, we run Careem ONE to offer for the requirements of disabled persons.
Q3. Which markets is Careem now active in and set to launch?
Today, Careem runs in more than 50 cities in the MENATP area –North Africa, Middle East, Turkey, and Pakistan.
We consider our region of focal point to be west of Pakistan and east of Morocco, and we truly see ourselves as a home-based brand from the region and for the region.
Our main purpose is to go deep in this footstep first prior to looking into other exciting adjacent markets.
Q4. You grew up in Karachi in Pakistan, how did your education train you for the world of technology and business?
Growing up in Karachi gave me a profound understanding and pleasure of the challenge in my home region.
Spending time in California, mainly Silicon Valley made me a fan in the transformative influence of technology to beat these challenges and made me a hunger to create a world-class foundation in our parts of the world like loads of entrepreneurs and business minds did it in Silicon Valley.
At Careem, we are fervent about developing an association from the region, for the region – a home-based business that will instill pride in persons and be the medium for the area.
Q5. What do you look for in a new market that you are considering expanding to?
Since we released in Dubai in 2012, Careem has to pay attention to spinning the area’s most imperative challenges into the opportunities, building local innovations which simplify everyone’s lives.
This mission lies at the center of our industry and our entry into the new markets is driven primarily by an essential to widen access to reasonable, safe, dependable transportation.
Careem is likewise a job maker with a distinction, and when we stare at new markets we additionally get thrilled about the chance to bring employment and revenue-producing opportunities to the native population.
While considering a fresh market, we look for a comparatively large population where the transport system is required and where the regulatory structure will help us to work.
We work with governments to set up our network, make job offers for either expatriates or locals, and significantly impact communities.
Q7. Careem is featured in Google Maps as well; do you think that you will scale that corporation as you grow?
Our ongoing partnership with Google has been essential to our organization and this incorporated feature – helping users to look for directions on the Google Maps in order to click on a ride-hailing icon which reveals the nearby Careem cars – is the most recent step in our precious partnership.
We additionally work with Google for navigation in our cabs and cars as well as utilize Google as a platform to build responsiveness of our services.
Careem has made it clear that its purpose is to IPO, is that the end line for you or merely a fundraising event to prolong global expansion and power.
In an area which has limited public transport systems, Careem is at a standstill very early in realizing the latent of its 24*7 mobility platform. We are blessed to have great investors who have put their faith in us and have invested more than $400m in Careem.
Currently, we are adequately funded to carry out our business strategy. IPO is always an alternative for fast-growing industries like Careem and we will discover it at an exact time.
Q8. Like most successful entrepreneurs, do you see yourself going back to VC or building your own investment in the future?
Still, we are in the early days of Careem’s expedition to become the largest mover of humans and things in the district. Our mission is to make simpler people’s lives and certainly impact the lives of everyone in the territory.
I am utterly dedicated to realizing this task and haven’t the time to know what comes after it.
Mudassir thanks a lot for giving your valuable time and I wish you and Careem all the success in the near future.
