Wael Fakharany, former managing director of Careem in Egypt, expressed in a phone call with a private TV channel his intention to move to international arbitration. He spoke about the problem with Careem, which announced firing him last week. Fakharany said he would resort to international arbitration to get his rights. He pointed out that he has a non-disclosure agreement that prevents him from going into details. However, he explained that the company promised him a lot to convince him to leave Google for Careem, but the latter did not abide by their promises. Meanwhile, sources related to Fakharany said he did not resign, but the contract was ended and not renewed. Fakharany said he called for investigations in the charges put against him, but the company surprised him with a termination of his contract via email. He noted that during his tenure, Careem's value increased from $200m to $1bn. Fakharany was appointed as managing director for the company's unit in Egypt in September. According to data from Careem, the company provides services in 53 cities in the Middle East, including 18 cities in Saudi Arabia—making it the company's biggest market. Moreover, Careem also provides its services in seven cities in Pakistan, while the Egyptian market comes third in terms of the number of cities, as the company operates in only six cities. Daily News Egypt learnt that no lawsuits have yet been filed against Careem in Egypt and Dubai. In December 2016, Careem announced completing the first round of a capital fundraising worth $500m, including $350m from current and new investors, such as the Japanese Rakuten and Saudi Telecom Company. The funding was one of the largest provided to an IT company in the history of the Middle East. Careem had announced last week sacking Fakharany and appointing Ramy Kato as head of customer service and manager of operations.
