1,000 Saudi female drivers sign up for Careem in KSA

CAIRO - 15 February 2018: About 1,000 Saudi women are registering to train with ride-hailing app Careem ahead of the lifting of the women's driving ban later this year, The Independent reported on Wednesday.

Careem, a UAE-based carrier with millions of users in neighboring Saudi Arabia, will train the prospective female drivers.

“We are very excited about this June; it is a big milestone for the country. We have already started training female captains and we hope to get up to 100,000 female captains on board within a year from June,” Magnus Olsson, co-founder of Careem, said.

He added that Careem, which operates in 13 countries and is worth about $1 billion, wishes to employ 100,000 Saudi women as a part of its expansion in the market.

On other hand, Saudi Arabia does not run operational public transportation systems, creating opportunities for Uber and Careem to expand in the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia suffered from a high unemployment rate of 12.8 percent last year. For Saudi women, it reached up to 80 percent.

Driving cars will allow Saudi women reach to expand their access to the labor market and potentially become paid drivers if they wish.

Careem has started trainings in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar for women who have a valid driving license abroad.

In September, King Salman issued a number of royal decrees to implement progressive legislation in the conservative kingdom. This included permitting women to drive cars for the first time.