CAFU plans to increase existing headcount by 30% and top-up fleet size by 35%

CAFU, the MENA region’s first on-demand car service designed entirely around the needs of the consumer, is embarking on a recruitment drive, with plans to increase its existing headcount by 30%. The Dubai-born start-up is also set to top-up its fleet by 35%, to meet increasing consumer demand.

CAFU is split into two operational functions. CAFU Tech focuses on the technology platform, ancillary products and support services enabling customers to connect and place their orders; and CAFU Petroleum brings core services to customers, taking care of operations and logistics.

According to CAFU’s inaugural Sustainability Report 2021, which is split into three sections: Environmental, Social Capital, and Governance, Ethics and Integrity, the company boasts a full-time workforce of 151, made up of 27 different nationalities. Plans are now in place to scale that up by more than 60 roles across the organisation, which includes over 40 on the tech and product side.

The company, which opened its doors in 2018, is also set to expand its fleet of vehicles. CAFU is increasing its fleet size by approximately 35% throughout Q3 in order to meet growing consumer demand.

Rashid Al Ghurair, Founder and CEO of CAFU, said, “Our first ever sustainability report gave us a great falcon’s eye view of the organisation across the three key metrics and showed how far we’ve come in such a short space of time. New customers registered witnessed growth of almost 48% on the previous year and the demand shows no sign of slowing. To meet customer expectations moving forward, it is vital that we continue to invest in the infrastructure of the business and our most valuable asset, the people who make CAFU what it is today.”

In its Employee Engagement survey ‘All Hands’, 64% of employees gave CAFU a rating of 7/10 or above as a place they would recommend to work. Almost one-third of CAFU Tech staff and 12.5% of CAFU Petroleum staff are female.

Al Ghurair added, “It is our strong belief that diversity is a driver of scale and ultimate success for any business. To that end, we are proud to be able to tap into the rich multicultural melting pot of diverse talent which exists throughout the UAE. We know that there is more to be done to achieve a truly diverse workforce and we are implementing a number of talent acquisition strategies to increase the number of females working over our entire organisation.”

CAFU, which expanded its services into Abu Dhabi last year, has also begun capturing and reporting its Greenhouse Gas emissions as part of a commitment to become a carbon-neutral company. The report revealed that, throughout 2021, the company recorded total emissions – tCO2e of 642,723.7. CAFU’s air emissions from internal operations stood at 16,473,817 grams. And total energy consumption in 2021 was 96,981,600 MJ.

“As an on-demand car service we are fully aware of our responsibilities to the environment and have aligned with a number of global frameworks, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We will continue to innovate and identify opportunities where we can make a difference, preserving our planet for generations to come,” said Al Ghurair.

In 2021, CAFU disposed of 12.3 tons of waste through its waste management partner Ecyclex – 3.1 tons of which was hazardous waste. While a pilot service developed in partnership with Blue LLC was launched in December 2021, which involves collecting used cooking oils to refine into biodiesel.

Contributing towards a more sustainable environment, in 2021 CAFU launched the Ghaf Tree Seeds Project, in partnership with UAE University, which aims to plant 1 million seeds through custom-built drone technology, scaling the program to help eventually combat climate change in the world’s harshest climates.

Al Ghurair said, “We are at the beginning of our journey to reduce our energy consumption and to cut our Green House Gas emissions. Since inception, our product has proven untapped expansive potential to be at the core of energy transition. In producing this report, we have provided a record of our current carbon footprint and our emissions intensity. Already this year we have been working hard on our strategy to reduce the emissions we have recorded, and we have started our journey of carbon reduction using science-based targets. We will present our strategy and performance in our yearly reports going forward. While we are proud of our achievements to date, we realise there is still plenty to be done and we are excited by the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead as we continue to disrupt the status quo, connecting our customers to a growing range of convenient services.”