The news about Uber’s acquisition of Careem comes as little surprise for those who belong to the MENA entrepreneurial ecosystem. It has always been a matter of when, and how much Uber will pay, to dominate the market. After all, Careem has done phenomenally well.

Careem’s business practice in the region, including in the UAE and Egypt, has been praised for more than just reach and popularity. The company, initially co-founded by Mudassir Sheikha and Magnus Olsson, successfully polished its brand identity with actions that were deemed culturally-conscious and touched on the core values of the region’s local communities. Free rides during times of flooding in Saudi Arabia, and helping collect and distribute surplus food for donating during Ramadan are some examples of how the Dubai-based ride-hailing unicorn appealed to its local customers from the start.

Later on, Careem started to roll out further offerings, including scooter rides, and minibus services. And while it is considered the leader in innovating out of the region’s crowded streets, there are others coming up with their own solutions to improve transport for millions of residents. Here are just some of the apps we think Uber will take notice of next… And actually, one is already on radar.

HALAN

We’re predicting big things for this Egyptian startup. Founded by Mounir Nakhla, and currently operating in Egypt and Sudan, Halan offers on-demand motorcycle and ‘tuk-tuk’ (rickshaw) rides in underserved neighborhoods. The company attempts to regulate an unregulated transportation service that’s already extremely popular in many densely populated areas.

In December 2018, Halan received a multimillion-dollar investment round thanks to Uber’s founding Chief Technology Officer Oscar Salazar taking notice and joining the company’s board.

Speaking of his decision to invest, Salazar said: “While everybody is fighting to bring ride-hailing to 1 billion people in the world, Halan is focusing on the remaining 6 billion.”

FYONKA

The female-only ride-sharing app addresses one of the MENA’s local challenges – the fact that many women prefer to ride with a fellow female. And some are not comfortable travelling alone in a regular taxi.

Launched in December 2018, the Egyptian app connects female riders to female-operated car shares in order to provide a safe and reliable ride where women customers can feel more comfortable.

Founded by Mostafa El Kholy and Abdallah Hussein, Fyonka also aims to empower women drivers and provide them with a steady source of income to support their families. Additionally, the company runs a community give-back project where they use a part of their profits to invest in projects helping Egypt's underprivileged women.

“We collaborate with relevant associations and work with them on women empowerment projects throughout the year,” Hussein explained, adding that Fyonka is currently working on two projects, including one involving providing reading and writing classes for illiterate women in Upper Egypt.

TIRHAL

With only a few international companies currently investing in Sudan, Tirhal is considered by some as the “Uber of Sudan”.

Launched in September 2016, the company now operates in four cities in Sudan – Khartoum, Wad Madani, Elobeid and Port Sudan – with more than 45,000 drivers registered in their fleet, and 4.5 million users.

The company, founded by Mohamed Elzakey, Omer Elzakey, Yaser Abba and Siddig Eltaj, also introduced its ‘Tirhal Nawaem’ service for female riders to order female-operated cabs and is currently exploring further expansion in Africa, namely into Nigeria, Ethiopia and Tanzania.

“My vision is to be the first Sudanese unicorn company,” Elzakey recently told Wamda.

JEENY

Dubbed by the company as the “fastest ride-hailing service” in Saudi Arabia, Jeeny is currently available in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Al Khobar, Madinah, Jubail, and Hofuf. It has also expanded to Amman, Jordan.

Formerly called “Easy Taxi”, the app was renamed after entering other on-demand sectors to ease daily chores for the public, introducing ‘Jeeny Telecom’ for GSM and data line top ups, followed by ‘Jeeny Orders’ for food and goods delivery.

“We decided to tap into more sectors after succeeding in the past five years with the ride e-hailing services,” explained managing director Eugen Brikcius at time of rebrand.