The race for super-apps is intensifying in the Middle East.
Unlike Western markets, where Google, Apple, and Meta maintain separate app ecosystems with strict integration limits, in countries like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, tech giants are following in the footsteps of China’s WeChat.
Dubai-based Careem, which started as a ride-hailing company, has evolved into a comprehensive app handling transportation, food delivery, grocery shopping, payments, and home cleaning. Another local app, Talabat, has expanded beyond food delivery into groceries, health and beauty, and dine-out deals. Messaging app Botim now offers international remittances and bill payments alongside communication features.
The region’s super-app explosion underscores its growing artificial intelligence ambitions. U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent visit helped boost these efforts with major deals for data centers and advanced chip access. With widespread smartphone adoption, the Middle East offers an ideal testing ground for tech platforms looking to expand beyond their home markets.
“Consumers are increasingly prioritizing convenience, seamless integration, and time efficiency over siloed, single-use solutions,” Rishabh Singh, vice president of products at Botim’s parent company, Astra Tech, told Rest of World. “This is giving people back what matters most — time, and that’s enabling them to focus on what truly counts in their personal and professional lives.”
More than 60% of UAE residents seek to optimize their smartphone storage by consolidating multiple apps into a single super-app, according to Dubai-based market research company Sapience.
Careem noticed the trend as early as 2017 and started working toward it, according to Adeeb Warsi, the company’s chief operating officer.
“By 2017, early 2018, it was clear to us that we had to expand into adjacent markets,” Warsi told Rest of World. “At the time, our main conversations revolved around what those adjacencies would look like and how deeply we’d invest.”
Careem was acquired by Uber in January 2020.
Covid-19 accelerated the change in the Middle East. As lockdowns took effect, ride-hailing crashed and companies pivoted aggressively toward new services.
During the pandemic, Careem seized the chance to double down on food delivery, pushing toward the comprehensive platform users see today, Warsi said. It consolidated all services into one app by mid-2020, creating a unified digital experience.
“Our goal was a simplified, frictionless experience across multiple services,” said Warsi. “That means maintaining one digital wallet and storing your payment methods and addresses securely.”
Consumers are increasingly prioritizing convenience, seamless integration, and time efficiency over siloed, single-use solutions.
Careem claims to have 50 million customers across services — from car rentals to freight logistics.
Botim has recorded fivefold remittance growth and fourfold multi-currency card usage in the past year, according to Singh. More than 60% of Botim users engage with three-plus services monthly, he said.
Le Concierge, a homegrown UAE luxury super-app launched in 2022, has emerged as a significant player by specifically targeting affluent consumers. Its services range from chauffeur-driven cars to on-demand personal shopping.
“The UAE is a launchpad for innovation with its high digital adoption, government-led tech initiatives, and a lifestyle culture built around convenience and quality,” Khalfan Aldhaheri, founder and CEO of Le Concierge, told Rest of World. “The daily rhythm of business, luxury, and hospitality that defines life in Dubai inspired us to build a solution worthy of its environment.”
Tawakkalna 2.0, the super-app introduced by Saudi Arabia’s Data and AI Authority, has more than 32 million users, while Egypt’s Yalla super-app has over 2.7 million.
In stark contrast to California’s fragmented digital landscape, Dubai residents habitually manage their entire lives with just two or three super-apps.
“I used to juggle between so many apps — one for food, another for commuting, and a third for paying bills and sending money home,” Anitha Suresh, a Dubai-based IT professional, told Rest of World. “Now, I just use one app; it’s so much simpler.”
The concept of a super-app first emerged in Asia: China’s WeChat, started in 2011, evolved from a messaging platform into a comprehensive ecosystem serving over a billion users with everything from payments to health-care bookings. Southeast Asia’s Grab and Gojek followed similar trajectories, while Latin America’s Rappi built comparable platforms.
Still, no single player has achieved WeChat-level dominance in the Middle East. Deliveroo and Amazon are battling local champions while newcomers like Yango and Bolt strive to grab market share. This mirrors U.S. patterns where even established players like Uber have struggled to succeed with their super-app aspirations.
“Unlike Asia, where super-apps like Gojek grew from single-use tools, the UAE market is primed for a more holistic leap — one that integrates multiple lifestyle services from the start,” Aldhaheri said.
Unlike China, where a centralized system enables rapid scaling, the success of the Middle East’s digital pioneers depends on how efficiently they meet regulatory norms to introduce services. Careem’s integration with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority for taxi-hailing shows how strategic government partnerships form the foundation of digital expansion in the region.
“Each country in the region has its own regulatory framework,” Warsi said. “Sometimes these frameworks can differ significantly.”
Grab and Gojek expanded across Southeast Asian markets with localized features within their super-app frameworks. In Indonesia, for instance, Grab offers food delivery through Grab Food; in Vietnam, it offers motorbike ride-hailing.
While Western observers may perceive the Middle East’s super-app revolution as both an opportunity and a challenge, the developments in cities such as Dubai and Riyadh represent a transformative moment for the tech industry, Aldhaheri said.
“This is a healthy and forward-looking movement that can accelerate the technology market on a global scale — not as a challenge, but as a contribution to a shared, more inclusive digital future,” he said.
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