Dubai ride-hailing app Zed appoints former Gojek executive Shobhit Singhal to lead its growth

Zed, the Dubai-born ride-hailing app that is part of Al Ghurair Mobility, has appointed Shobhit Singhal, whom the company describes as the former chief operating officer of Southeast Asian super app Gojek, to lead its next phase of growth. Logistics Middle East, which reported the appointment on 22 October, gave his new title as Head of Business.

According to Zed, Singhal brings experience from Gojek, Apple and Bain & Company. The company said he will focus on strengthening Zed’s operations in Dubai, enhancing the customer experience and advancing homegrown mobility technology.

According to Zed, the appointment is a step in its ambition to become the go-to ride-hailing app for Dubai, while building a scalable platform with the potential to expand across the wider region.

His Gojek role

Gojek is an Indonesian ride-hailing and delivery app which The Jakarta Post described as operating under GoTo. In January 2023, when Gojek introduced its GoCar Luxe premium car service, the paper quoted Shobit Singhal, as the paper spelled the name, as Gojek’s chief transport officer.

“We are very excited about the launch of the GoCar Luxe service as it provides a premium solution for customers who demand an elevated mobility experience supported by greater comfort and additional perks,” he told the paper at the time.

What Zed is

Gulf News has described Zed as an app-only service, and Khaleej Times reported that it offers taxi and premium ride categories. In September 2025, Gulf News reported that Dubai Taxi Company (DTC) and Kabi by Al Ghurair had agreed to combine DTC’s 6,200 taxis and Kabi’s 3,680 taxis on Bolt and Zed, which the paper described as “the UAE’s homegrown ride-hailing app”.

In October 2025, Gulf News reported that Zed had expanded its platform to 10,764 taxis after new agreements with DTC and National Taxi, bringing more than 80% of Dubai’s licensed taxi fleet onto the app. The paper said the platform then included vehicles from the emirate’s top three taxi operators: DTC, National Taxi and Kabi by Al Ghurair.

Badr Al Ghurair, chief executive of Zed, told Gulf Business at the time: “This collaboration with DTC and National Taxi further strengthens Dubai’s mobility ecosystem while ensuring that our communities have access to the reliable, everyday transport solutions they deserve.”

In June 2026, Khaleej Times reported that Zed had launched the Zed Wallet, which gives users 15% cashback on rides, capped at Dh20 per trip, for both taxi and premium categories across Dubai.

Dubai’s ride-hailing market

According to the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), taxis in Dubai carried 88.9 million riders in the first half of 2026, or 25.5% of the 348.1 million riders recorded across public transport, shared mobility and taxis. Only Dubai Metro, at 39.2%, carried a larger share. Shared mobility services, which the RTA defines as app-based vehicles, hourly rentals and on-demand buses, carried 25.7 million riders, and limousines 5.7 million.

The RTA wants more taxi trips booked through apps. Gulf News reported that the authority’s Smart Mobility Strategy aims to have 80% of all taxi bookings made digitally. In January 2025, Adel Shakri, Director of Planning and Business Development at the RTA’s Public Transport Agency, said the sector recorded a 16% growth in the market share of e-hail trips in 2024 compared with 2023, according to Gulf News.

Other apps also carry Dubai taxis. DTC began putting its own taxis on the Bolt app in May 2025, and its chief executive, Mansoor Rahma Alfalasi, told Gulf News in November 2025: “We are talking about market share from the taxi sector of about 72 per cent, and looking forward to reach 100 per cent in the coming few months by partnering and onboarding other operators on Bolt itself.”

Uber completed its $3.1 billion acquisition of Careem’s businesses across the Middle East in January 2020, Zawya reported at the time.