Careem Networks, the Middle East's leading private car booking service acquires Morocco based car booking service TAXIII's assets and brings founder, Yassir EL ISMAILI EL IDRISSI and all TAXIII team onboard.
Careem Networks announced today that they have acquired Taxiii's assets as part of their strategy to become the leading ground transportation provider in the Middle East. Yassir EL ISMAILI EL IDRISSI will follow the business into Careem to lead the development and expansion of Careem across Morocco.
March 17, 2015,Dubai: Careem Networks, the UAE-headquartered app and web-based chauffeur-driven car booking service which serves 14 cities across the Middle East now expands its presence to Morocco's promising market, starting in Rabat & Casablanca and very soon in Marrakech. Careem founded in Dubai in 2012, now operates in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Beirut, Cairo, Dammam, Dhahran, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Karachi, Khobar, Kuwait, Lahore and Riyadh.
After the acquisition in January of enwani, a Saudi based address coding service, Careem continues its ambitious expansion strategy, with a vision to become the leading ground transportation in the broader Middle East North Africa Region.
Taxiii started a taxi & car booking app in June 2014 and was founded by Yassir EL ISMAILI EL IDRISSI, former consultant at Accenture in Paris & HR Director for Webhelp & Intelcia. Taxiii started its operations in Rabat, quickly followed in September 2014 by Casablanca, covering a population of 5 million people, where smartphone equipment is estimated to be 60%. Taxiii developed a unique understanding of local regulations and brings in a community of active users, several corporates and drivers. The new service, called Careem Morocco, will be the largest aggregator of privately booked cars in the country.
Careem, which was started by Magnus Olsson and Mudassir Sheikha, former consultants at McKinsey & Company, allows customers to book a car for a precise time in the future or order it on-demand through Careem's mobile app or website. It serves a large number of corporate clients and individual customers who enjoy the service for its convenience, reliability and safety. The start-up is growing at phenomenal pace at more than 30% month-on-month and has reached a headcount of more than 70 after only two and a half years of operations.
On this integration of Taxiii, Selim Turki head of new products at Careem commented, "today is a great day for us. We have had our sights on Morocco for sometime and what better way to enter the market than to bring the most successful local player on board with us. Ground transportation in the city is heavily relied on for the everyday person to get around. With the help of our technology and customer service platforms, we can help improve the customer experience greatly. Careem users will be able to order cars on
demand or for a set time in the future, all at the touch of a button. And no more worrying about carrying cash, customers can choose to settle their fares via a registered credit card should they wish, with the option to pay cash still supported. We can't wait to get started over here improving the day to day lives of people living and visiting this great country."
Yassir EL ISMAILI EL IDRISSI, founder of Taxiii & now General Manager of Careem Morocco, "when I met Careem's leadership team, it seemed like a perfect match. We share the same vision, the same ambition, the same way of working and what was even more important, we share the same values. Being part of such a team is an honor and a recognition of the hard work the team has been doing. Joining our local presence and community to Careem's awesome technology & operational excellence will with no doubt make Careem Morocco a service both customers & drivers will love & recommend.
To thank all Taxiii users for their loyalty, the new Careem Morocco has offered them a credit of 100 MAD to try out the service.
The new Careem Morocco will be opening its service on March 26th in Casablanca as "Official Ground Transportation Partner" for the TedX Casablanca event.
A press conference is organized on March 23rd at 5pm in the Casablanca Technopark, as an opening of the Mobile Monday (mobilemondaymaroc.com/ ).
About Careem
Careem is a ground transportation technology company, which makes ordering chauffeur-driven cars reliable, safe, convenient, and affordable. Its customers can order a chauffeur-driven car on careem.com or through Careem's mobile apps; track their rides in real-time; pay with credit cards and access receipts online. Established in July 2012, Careem operates in and has offices across 14 cities in the Middle East, including Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Cairo, Dhahran, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Dammam, Karachi, Kuwait, Khobar, Lahore, Manama, and Riyadh.
About Taxiii
Taxiii is a service developed by Mobilitech, a Moroccan start up dedicated to mobile technologies. Taxiii was the first car & taxi booking app in Morocco, downloaded by over 6000 people and counting over 2200 users and 100 drivers. It was founded by Yassir EL ISMAILI EL IDRISSI, previously a director at consulting firm Accenture in Paris, then HR Director in the offshore outsourcing sector in Morocco, for Webhelp & Intelcia. Taxiii has been selected as one the Moroccan most innovative start ups, and is mentored by USAID funded CEED under the "Grow Program".
Press Release 2015
