LONDON: Careem has passed the one million driver mark as it competes with global rival Uber in cities across the region.
The Dubai-based ride app, which operates in 14 countries mainly in the Middle East, said that Faisal Saleh from Hail in Saudi Arabia became the millionth person to sign up to the service.
The ride hailing app claims to be creating between 60,000 and 70,000 jobs per month in cities from Dubai to Casablanca amid fierce regional competition with global rival Uber.
“We are humbled about achieving our target of creating one million jobs in the region,” said Careem CEO Mudassir Sheikha. “We started Careem with a mission to simplify and improve the lives of people.”
Careem was founded in Dubai in 2012 by Sheikha and Magnus Olsson, two former McKinsey consultants. Abdulla Elyas became the third co-founder when Careem bought Jeddah-based address coding service Enwani two years later.
Uber and Careem were in preliminary talks to combine their Middle Eastern services, hoping to resolve a costly rivalry as Uber prepares for a public offering, Bloomberg reported on July 03, citing people familiar with the talks.
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is a major investor in Uber, after acquiring a $3.5 billion stake in the company in 2016. Meanwhile Kingdom Holding and Saudi Telecom venture capital unit STV are also investors in Careem.
Careem hits one million drivers across region in race with Uber
Careem hits one million drivers across region in race with Uber
- Careem operates in 100 cities across 14 countries.
- Ride hailing app expands across region
Saudi Arabia ranks 2nd globally in digital government, World Bank 2025 index shows
WASHINGTON: Saudi Arabia has achieved a historic milestone by securing second place worldwide in the 2025 GovTech Maturity Index released by the World Bank.
The announcement was made on Thursday during a press conference in Washington, DC, which evaluated 197 countries.
The Kingdom excelled across all sub-indicators, earning a 99.64 percent overall score and placing it in the “Very Advanced” category.
It achieved a score of 99.92 percent in the Core Government Systems Index, 99.90 percent in the Public Service Delivery Index, 99.30 percent in the Digital Citizen Engagement Index, and 99.50 percent in the Government Digital Transformation Enablers Index, reflecting some of the highest global scores.
This includes outstanding performance in digital infrastructure, core government systems, digital service delivery, and citizen engagement, among the highest globally.
Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Suwaiyan, governor of the Digital Government Authority, attributed this achievement to the unwavering support of the Saudi leadership, strong intergovernmental collaboration, and effective public-private partnerships.
He highlighted national efforts over recent years to re-engineer government services and build an advanced digital infrastructure, which enabled Saudi Arabia to reach this global standing.
Al-Suwaiyan emphasized that the Digital Government Authority continues to drive innovation and enhance the quality of digital services, in line with Saudi Vision 2030, supporting the national economy and consolidating the Kingdom’s transformation goals.
The 2025 GTMI data reflects Saudi Arabia’s excellence across key areas, including near-perfect scores in core government systems, public service delivery, digital citizen engagement, and government digital transformation enablers. This balanced performance places the Kingdom firmly in the “Grade A” classification for very advanced countries, demonstrating the maturity of its digital government ecosystem.
Saudi Arabia’s progress in the index has been remarkable: from 49th place in the 2020 edition, to third in 2022, and now second in 2025, confirming its status as a global leader in digital transformation and innovation.
The achievement also reflects the Kingdom’s focus on putting people at the center of digital transformation, enhancing user experience, improving government efficiency, and integrating artificial intelligence and emerging technologies across public services.
