UAE’s Emirates Telecom buys 50% stake in Careem super app for $400m

UAE telco company, Etisalat, is taking a page out of India’s playbook by launching its own super app, Breakingviews. Hoping to emulate the success of India’s Jio Platforms and its all-in-one app JioMart, Etisalat’s Breakingviews aims to offer customers a seamless experience that combines e-commerce, digital payments, and a variety of other services. As the competition for super app dominance heats up in the UAE, we take a closer look at Breakingviews and its potential impact on the region’s telecom industry.


The United Arab Emirates’ investment company, Emirates Telecommunications (e&), which is majority-owned by the Gulf state, announced on Monday that it is acquiring a 50% stake in a “super app” by Careem, Uber’s Middle Eastern subsidiary, for $400 million. This step follows e&’s $4.4 billion investment in Vodafone last year, as the company aims to become a technology and investment powerhouse. e&’s move is similar to that of India’s Reliance Industries, which has been acquiring music apps and other services for years to cross-sell to its mobile customers. The growing affluence in the Middle East is reflected in the increasing demand for rapid delivery services and digital payments. While e&’s valuation is already 20 times 2023 earnings, ahead of Reliance’s, it can hope that these expensive investments will help it rise further.


In conclusion, Punt, the UAE’s new super app from telco Etisalat, is using a playbook that has served Indian apps well. By offering a broad range of services and features through a single app, Punt is hoping to capture the attention of both consumers and businesses in the UAE. It remains to be seen how successful Punt will be in the highly competitive world of mobile apps, but the fact that it is drawing inspiration from successful apps in other regions bodes well for its future prospects. As always, the team at Breakingviews will be watching closely to see how this story unfolds.