Careem reveals its first female “Captainah” in Saudi Arabia

Careem, the UAE-based ride-hailing startup just revealed its first female driver in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the country prepares to allow women to drive starting from June 25.

Enaam Gazi Al-Aswad was selected to become the first “captainah” – basically the female version of the “captain”, a term Careem uses to refer to its drivers. According to Arab News, Enaam was selected amongst 3,000 women.

When Saudi announces that their women would be allowed to drive, Enaam was ecstatic. “When the authorities announced in September that women would be allowed to drive, I wanted to be the first and contacted Careem straight away,” Enaam said. She adds that allowing females to drive in Saudi will allow them to help and contribute towards building the Kingdom’s future in accordance with the Vision 2030 strategy.

Enaam is a 43-year-old that learned how to drive back in her native country, Syria where she already has a driving license. She expects to receive her Saudi license when she completes 10 hours of driving tuition under the new laws.

“For a woman on her own, it is a good way to earn a living and pay the bills. My sons are excited and very supportive of me. Careem drivers earn good money, I know. I am telling lots of my female friends to think about it too. I would like to be a guide as well as a driver,” she said.

Mudassir Sheikha, the co-founder, and CEO of Careem mentioned that he expects new business to eventually make up for any short-term fall-off in revenues when women are able to take to the roads themselves.

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