Bykea

Bykea, stylized as BYKEA, is a Pakistani ride-hailing service and parcel delivery company based in Karachi.[1][2] It was founded by Muneeb Maayr in 2016.[3]

History

Bykea was started in December 2016 in Karachi, Pakistan.[4] The company currently operates in four Pakistani cities: Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi.[5]

In 2018, Bykea partnered with Jazz, a Pakistan-based digital communications company, to provide enhanced digital connectivity and efficiency to users.[6] In 2018, Bykea and MJSF (Mahvash and Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation) joined for the Bikers Support Scheme.[7]

In 2019, Bykea raised $5.7 million in series A funding from local and international institutions.[8][9]

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan,[10] Bykea had secured a $13 million investment. However, due to the government's ban on pillion riding to combat the virus, investors reneged on the deal.[11][12]

Services

Bykea enables a crowdsourced network of motorbike owners to transport people, parcels, on-demand shopping, and payments within a city.[13][14][15][16]

In early 2022, Bykea added rickshaws to its services. By mid-2022, the company began offering both air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned options in its ride-hailing service.

See also

References

  1. Ahmed Jamil. Is Bykea the first next and only available in Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindiand Karachi? Pakistani unicorn in the making? Pakistan Today, 6 May 2019^
  2. Ihsan Qadir. Bike drivers of Uber, Careem, Bykea hold protest against companies Pakistan Today, 26 September 2018, retrieved 3 June 2019^
  3. Is Bykea a candidate for the Pakistani super-app? Profit by Pakistan Today, November 28, 2020^
  4. Bilal Karim Mughal. Can Bykea help you beat Karachi's rush hour traffic? dawn.com, 6 December 2018, retrieved 3 June 2019^
  5. Mobile marketplace – The story of Bykea with founder Muneeb Maayr vcastonline.wpcomstaging.com, 20 August 2018, retrieved 3 June 2019^
  6. Bykea onboards Jazz as its Business Solutions Partner phoneworld.com.pk, 4 February 2019, retrieved 3 June 2019^
  7. MJSF, Bykea Technologies inks pact for Bikers Support Scheme thenews.com.pk, 20 March 2018, retrieved 3 June 2019^
  8. Ride-sharing app Bykea raises $5.7 million in Series as funding profit.pakistantoday.com.pk, 30 April 2019, retrieved 3 June 2019^
  9. Usman Hanif. Bykea gets $5.7m worth of investment tribune.com.pk, 1 May 2019, retrieved 3 June 2019^
  10. CIO Bykea Abdul Mannan on Morning Show News Cafe AbbTakk TV abbtakk.tv, 7 April 2020, retrieved 7 April 2020^
  11. Investors hold $13m investment in Bykea over pillion riding ban Samaa TV, retrieved 2020-08-24^
  12. Small-aircraft ride-sharing program takes off in EU AGCS Global, retrieved 2020-11-18^
  13. Mutaher Khan. Tech talk: Bykea vrooms itself into a hyperlocal marketplace dawn.com, 29 July 2018, retrieved 3 June 2019^
  14. Uzma Ghaz. These Pakistani startups have the potential to go big in 2018 dawn.com, 2 January 2018, retrieved 3 June 2019^
  15. Ali Ahmed. Tech talk: TPL Trakker, Bykea partners to improve Mobile Application brecorder.com, retrieved 11 August 2020^
  16. Kaleem Naqvi. Tech talk: TPL Trakker’s Location Based Services to Power Bykea’s App technologytimes.pk, retrieved 11 August 2020^