Olev enters race against Uber in Turkey

Olev, a new Turkey-based on-demand car service, hopes to snag a significant share of the Istanbul market, as its main competitor Uber faces legal challenges in the country. The app for the newly established startup has been downloaded by 16,000 people and has services for corporations, in addition to individual ride hailing. It has 250 vehicles and offers transportation to airports in Istanbul. Olev will also compete against the Dubai-based Careem, which recently entered Istanbul. Careem has a $500 million investment from a group led by Rakuten and Saudi Telecom Company. Other investors include Abraaj Group, Al Tayyar Group, Beco Capital, El Sewedy Investments, Endure Capital, Lumia Capital, SQM Frontier and Wamda Capital. Established by Ertunc Ciris, Olev is trying to raise $3 million. It has already attracted Ozsenol Group and 500Startups as investors. It plans to increase its fleet to 1,000 in a year and aims to become the market leader in Istanbul and Turkey.