17. ekar
Total funding: $45 million
Personal mobility systems
Founder: Vilhelm Hedberg
Nationality: Norwegian
Investors: Polymath Ventures, other investors
Headquarters: U.A.E.
Date of establishment: 2016
ekar offers on-demand access to a network of carshare and subscription leasing vehicles, along with other mobility options, including peer-to-peer rentals. The startup operates across nine cities in Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E., with a fleet of 3,000 vehicles and 350,000 users. By November 2022, it has facilitated 1.75 million bookings. In 2022, it launched a digital peer-to-peer carshare service in Saudi Arabia, which allows car owners to rent their cars on the ekar platform. ekar partners with companies like Talabat, ENBD, ADCB, Saudi Aramco, Etihad Airways, Emirates Airlines, and leading car rental and leasing companies in the GCC.