Vilhelm Hedberg | Founder
Ekar

Vilhelm directed his efforts toward ekar, his brainchild established in 2016, post the aquisition of his first company QMS. After two years of meticulous planning, he launched ekar, the first pay-as-you-go personal mobility service in the Middle East. Vilhelm envisioned a user-friendly self-drive mobility platform, allowing users to conveniently book cars from their laptops or smartphones, stationed throughout the city. In the same year, ekar was selected by RTA Dubai to provide 100 vehicles for its carshare project, marking a significant milestone. Subsequently, ekar secured partnerships with prominent clients such as Saudi Aramco, Emirates Airlines, and Etihad Airways. Under Vilhelm's leadership, ekar transitioned into a pioneering mobility tech company, facilitating seamless digital rental and leasing experiences between fleet owners, OEMs, and renters. Today, ekar stands as the Middle East's first and largest self-drive mobility platform, granting users on-demand access to thousands of vehicles through its mobile app.  ekar's accomplishments have earned recognition, including being listed among Forbes Middle East's 50 Most-Funded Start-ups in 2020 and 2022. Additionally, ekar received accolades such as the #1 Startup in the UAE and Top 3 in the Middle East by LinkedIn, and the GCC Car Sharing Providers Company of The Year in 2019 by Frost & Sullivan. Vilhelm himself was honored as SME Leader of the Year 2018 by Arabian Business and accepted into Endeavor in 2020. Under Vilhelm’s guidance, ekar has facilitated over 2 million trips, garnered over 1 million downloads, raised over $50 million USD, and achieved top rankings in both the IoS and Android app stores in Saudi Arabia. With over 350,000 registered members, ekar continues to thrive. Vilhelm's expertise has attracted attention from major news outlets such as BBC, EuroNews, Forbes, Arabian Business, The National, and Entrepreneur. He holds an MBA in International Business from EAE, a Bachelor of Arts in Business from the University of Florida, and has pursued further education in Scaling Entrepreneurial Ventures at Harvard, and Leadership at Stanford and INSEAD.