Careem, a Dubai-based ride-hailing app serving the Middle East, North Africa (MENA), and South Asia, has entered into the online delivery space as it drives forward in its battle with the likes of Uber within the MENA region.

Careem Now will begin life as a food delivery service, launching in Dubai and Jeddah with Egypt and Pakistan to follow, before eventually expanding out into delivering other goods and services to region.

The platform has launched as a standalone app on both Android and iOS, will operate independently from the ride-hailing business, and will have a dedicated call centre. However, existing Careem users are able to login using the same credentials as used for the ride-hailing app and will also have their registered cards automatically linked.

According to Careem, the delivery platform gives users “nearby restaurants, curated collections, popular restaurants, rich search options, sorting and tagging based on cuisine, dietary requirements, recommended dishes, real time tracking of order and there’s an easy to contact customer care team should you need to speak to someone”.

In Dubai, Careem Now has begun operating in Business Bay, Jumeirah 1, JLT, Marina, Tecom, Al Quoz, Diera, Garhoud, Motor City, and Sports City. Meanwhile, Jeddah has gained the service in Al Rawdha, Al Salamah, Al Naeem,Al Hamra,  Al Andalus, Al Khalidiya, Al Safa, and Al Zahraa.

It’s reported by Reuters that Careem is nearing the close of a $500m financing round to help with the expansion of its new delivery service.