Snapp, also known as the Uber of Iran, said its ride-hailing app is generating two million fares a day as young people in Tehran embrace technology in a market that’s off-limits for western investors.
“Snapp Tehran is now larger than any Uber city globally,” co-Founder Eyad Alkassar said in a statement. “Reaching this milestone in only three years makes Snapp one of the fastest-growing internet companies in the world.”
Backed by South African telecommunication provider MTN Group, Snapp — one of the two major ride-hails apps currently in Iran — operates in 34 cities across the country and partners with 1.5 million drivers. It’s also one of the top five car ride-hailing companies globally, it said in the statement.
Entrepreneurs in Iran enjoy higher status than in France and are on a par with those in the United States, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Their inventiveness manifests itself in many ways. With many international companies long restricted from doing business in Iran, local Iranian entrepreneurs have stepped in to fill the gap. The top ten packaged food brands are all domestic, and Iran has home-grown versions of Amazon, YouTube, PayPal, and otherInternet companies.
Iran, home to more than 80 million people, remains out of reach to U.S. and European investors after President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions in November, forcing Western companies out and hitting Iran’s oil exports and economy.
That’s opened up opportunities for global players from elsewhere.