Magnus Olsson and Mudassir Sheikha

Co-founders, Careem

Credited with creating the region’s first ride-sharing service, Careem, Sheikha and Olsson – both of whom had experience dealing with SMEs in their careers – quit McKinsey & Company after their respective stints to form Careem in 2012. They have since led the company to operate in more than 100 cities across 13 countries, while diversifying its operations into food delivery and digital payments. In what was a remarkable deal for the region, Uber signed a $3.1bn deal in 2019 to acquire Careem’s mobility, delivery, and payments businesses across the greater Middle East region. Outside Careem, both co-founders also invested in Endeavor Catalyst’s Fund III, a $134m venture capital fund last year.