Careem CEO has an update on company's Pakistan operations: With a heavy heart ...
's Middle Eastern
ride-hailing
giant
Careem
has announced that it is shutting down its operations in
Pakistan
, effective July 18, 2025. The company's co-founder and CEO
Mudassar Sheikha
shared the news of suspension of the services of Careem via a LinkedIn post. In a long LinkedIn post, Sheikha wrote, 'It is with a heavy heart that I share this update… This was an incredibly difficult decision.' He cited
macroeconomic challenges
, intensifying competition, and global capital constraints as key reasons behind the move, saying the company could no longer justify the investment needed to maintain a safe and reliable service in the country.
Sheikha also lauded the Pakistani team's "brilliant and fearless" efforts in building a service that millions relied on for daily commutes and earnings. Despite the suspension of its ride-hailing service, Careem's presence in Pakistan will continue in a different capacity.
Careem Technologies
, a spin-off focused on building the "Everything App" for the region, will maintain its operations from Pakistan.
Read Careem CEO Mudassar Sheikha's complete LinkedIn post here
A new chapter for Careem in Pakistan
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It is with a heavy heart that I share this update: Careem will suspend its ride-hailing service in Pakistan on July 18.
This was an incredibly difficult decision. The challenging macroeconomic reality, intensifying competition, and global capital allocation made it hard to justify the investment levels required to deliver a safe and dependable service in the country. In the end, the Careem Rides team had to make this tough call.
It's the end of an iconic chapter - one built with purpose, grit and a ton of relentless hustle.
I still remember when we launched in 2015, many thought it was a pipe dream. Safe rides on demand? Women traveling with strangers? Smartphones and digital payments for everyday use? The challenges were real and formidable. But our Pakistan team was brilliant and fearless - bold, determined, and literally on a mission to create millions of jobs for captains across the country.
They did not just build a service that millions of Pakistanis relied on to move and earn, they delivered significant public goods: digital infrastructure, trust, regulation, capability, confidence - all of which paved the way for countless local and global digital ventures to take root in Pakistan.
While ride-hailing is sunsetting, Careem's journey in Pakistan continues in a different role. Careem Technologies (the spinout building the Everything App) will continue to build from Pakistan for the region. Nearly 400 colleagues across all functions (including engineering) are building the Everything App and its ecosystem of verticals (food/grocery delivery, payments, and more).
This presence is only set to grow, with over 100 open roles and the expansion of our Falcon / NextGen program that brings in top graduates from Pakistani universities and gives them hands-on training on building highly scalable systems.
Pakistan is in Careem's DNA - our first line of code was written here, and the country remains a rich source of innovation and talent for us. Our commitment to Pakistan remains strong, and I sincerely hope to bring Careem's services back to the country in the future.
Lastly, I feel deeply grateful to the heroes who built Careem in Pakistan under the bold leadership of Junaid Iqbal. THANK YOU - you all made it happen against all odds. Your boldness, brilliance and passion shaped Careem and inspired a generation. I am incredibly proud of you all and can't wait to see the impact you will make across the region in the next chapters of your life.
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