I originally wrote this article for Forbes Middle East
Hot on the heels of launching a new bike rental network across Dubai last month, ride-hailing app Careem has hinted at ambitious plans to further branch out from being a transportation and food delivery platform, and become an all-encompassing ‘SuperApp’ that offers users everything from digital payments to financial services.
Most of us think of Careem as primarily a taxi app, but the company has been steadily spinning off ancillary services over the last couple of years. Careem NOW, a food delivery and courier service, was launched in 2018, followed last year by Careem BUS, an on-demand bus service in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as Careem PAY, a type of digital currency and payment platform that can be used within the Careem ecosystem. And just last month, phase one of Careem BIKE was launched, letting users rent from an almost 800-strong fleet of bicycles at 78 locations across Dubai. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
