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Careem Launches Lebanon Aid Drive With WFP
Donations will be matched through in-app giving, food orders, olive oil, and remittances. However, the end date and matching cap have been left unstated.
Careem launched a fundraising campaign with the World Food Program on April 30 to support emergency food assistance in Lebanon, the Dubai-based super app said.
The campaign, called Seeds for Lebanon, routes donations through several Careem services. Customers can give directly through an in-app Donate feature, with Careem stating that 100% of those contributions will go to WFP operations in Lebanon. Through Careem Food, AED 2 from every order at six participating restaurants — The Good Bowl, Wrapped, Sofret Beirut, Oventine by Al Safadi, Al Safadi, and Manoushe Street — will be directed to relief. Careem Quik will donate 100% of profits from Lebanese olive oil purchases, and Careem Pay will waive fees on transfers to Lebanon for the duration of the campaign. Careem also said it will match all donations made through the initiative.
Mudassir Sheikha, the company’s chief executive and co-founder, said the matching arrangement was meant to multiply the impact of every contribution made. Bashar Al Hammami, head of WFP partnerships in the UAE, said working with Careem allowed donations to be converted into food assistance for those in greatest need.
Careem described the launch as an extension of its relief activity beyond Gaza, citing previous donation drives that it said raised more than AED 2.2 million and were tied to nearly 47,500 food orders.
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Several operational details were left unspecified. The announcement did not state when the campaign ends, whether the donation match is capped, which Careem markets can participate, which corridors qualify for zero-fee Careem Pay transfers, or how quickly funds will be passed to WFP. It also did not clarify whether the 100% pledge applies after payment-processing or platform costs, or whether the matching commitment covers only direct in-app donations or extends to restaurant orders and olive oil contributions as well.
Careem, which describes itself as the “Everything App for the Middle East,” said the campaign is live across its platforms. The company says it operates in more than 70 cities across 10 countries, from Morocco to Pakistan.