Mideast ride-hailing firm Careem acquires RoundMenu to trial food delivery

Ride-sharing app Careem said in June it would accelerate expansion plans after raising $500 million from investors. (Reuters)
Updated 20 February 2018
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Mideast ride-hailing firm Careem acquires RoundMenu to trial food delivery

LONDON: Careem, a major Middle East competitor to Uber, has acquired RoundMenu and plans to trial food-delivery services using the restaurant listing and reservation platform.

It is unclear as yet how much the Dubai-based ride-hailing firm paid for the RoundMenu website and app.

RoundMenu has raised $3.1 million in funding since it launched in 2012, Careem said in a statement. RoundMenu was first funded and launched by HoneyBee Tech Ventures, followed later by other institutional investment from BECO Capital, Horeca Trade and Middle East Venture Partners.

“It is a good outcome for all parties after five years of seeding this venture. It’s particularly good for the ecosystem to see acquisitions emerging by local tech players,” Ihsan Jawad, partner at HoneyBee Tech Ventures, told Arab News.

Careem itself has raised more than $570 million over six rounds of funding since it launched — also in 2012. According to some estimates Careem is now valued at more than $1.2 billion.

RoundMenu is available in 18 cities across nine Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt, according to its website, partly matching Careem’s MENA-wide offering of 90 cities across 13 countries in the broader region.

“Careem will begin testing a delivery capability for RoundMenu customers on a small scale later this month,” the company told media in a statement.

Competition for such a service is high in the region, with Talabat, Zomato, UberEats and Deliveroo all offering similar home delivery options.

Other acquisitions by Careem include Morocco-based taxi company, Taxii, in May 2015 and Saudi address-coding service Enwani in June 2015.

In July 2017, it took a minority stake in an Egyptian start-up that connects commuters with private buses in Cairo.


Saudi Arabia leads outcome-based education to prepare future-ready generations: Harvard Business Review

A Harvard sign is seen at the Harvard University campus in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 27, 2025. (AFP)
Updated 10 February 2026
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Saudi Arabia leads outcome-based education to prepare future-ready generations: Harvard Business Review

  • The Riyadh-based school group developed a strategy that links every classroom activity to measurable student competencies, aiming to graduate learners equipped for the digital economy and real-world contexts

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s education system is undergoing a sweeping transformation aligned with Vision 2030, shifting from traditional, input-focused methods to outcome-based education designed to equip students with future-ready skills, Harvard Business Review Arabic reported.

The transformation is being adopted and spearheaded by institutions such as Al-Nobala Private Schools, which introduced the Kingdom’s first national “learning outcomes framework,” aimed at preparing a generation of leaders and innovators for an AI-driven future, the report said.

Al-Nobala has leveraged international expertise to localize advanced learning methodologies.

The Riyadh-based school group developed a strategy that links every classroom activity to measurable student competencies, aiming to graduate learners equipped for the digital economy and real-world contexts. The school’s group approach combines traditional values with 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, communication, innovation and digital fluency.

According to the report, the shift addresses the growing gap between outdated models built for low-tech, resource-constrained environments and today’s dynamic world, where learners must navigate real-time information, virtual platforms, and smart technologies.

“This is not just about teaching content, it’s about creating impact,” the report noted, citing how Al-Nobala’s model prepares students to thrive in an AI-driven world while aligning with national priorities.

The report noted that Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education has paved the way for this shift by transitioning from a centralized controller to a strategic enabler, allowing schools such as Al-Nobala to tailor their curriculum to meet evolving market and societal needs. This is part of the long-term goal to place the Kingdom among the top 20 global education systems.

Al-Nobala’s work, the report stated, has succeeded in serving the broader national effort to link education outcomes directly to labor market demands, helping to fulfill the Vision 2030 pillar of building a vibrant society with a thriving economy driven by knowledge and innovation.

Last February, Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan, Saudi Arabia’s minister of education, said that the Kingdom was making “an unprecedented investment in education,” with spending aligned to the needs of growth and development. He said that in 2025, education received the second-largest share of the state budget, totaling $53.5 billion.