Company: Karooooo
Country: South Africa
Sector: Internet Software/Services
CEO: Zak Calisto (Isaias Jose Calisto, CEO and Executive Chairman)
Website: https://karooooo.com/
Careers Page: Not publicly listed
LinkedIn: https://sg.linkedin.com/company/karooooo
Email: Not publicly listed
Headquarters: Singapore (holding company registration); primary operating base in Johannesburg, South Africa (via Cartrack)
Founded: 2001 (as Cartrack; Karooooo Ltd. holding structure listed on Nasdaq in 2021)
Valuation/Revenue: $225.0m revenue; $775.6m market value (African Business Top 250, 2025); CEO’s personal stake in Karooooo topped $1 billion after record Q1 2026 results (billionaires.africa, July 2026)
Karooooo Ltd. is the Singapore-incorporated holding company for Cartrack, a leading connected-vehicle and fleet management technology platform used by businesses and consumers across South Africa, other African markets, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas. It is dual-listed on the Nasdaq and Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and was founded and is led by South African entrepreneur Zak Calisto.
What Does Karooooo Do?
Through its Cartrack subsidiary, Karooooo provides vehicle telematics, fleet management, GPS tracking, driver behaviour monitoring, insurance-telematics and stolen-vehicle recovery services via subscription-based hardware and software, serving both fleet operators and individual vehicle owners. Cartrack surpassed two million subscribers in South Africa alone, according to a 2026 company announcement, and the group has expanded aggressively into international markets, positioning itself as a global SaaS-style mobility data platform rather than a purely South African business, with growing revenue contributions from Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas alongside its core African base.
Is Karooooo Legit?
Yes. Karooooo is dual-listed on the Nasdaq (a highly scrutinised exchange with rigorous listing and disclosure standards) and the JSE, publishes quarterly SEC filings and results, and Cartrack has a long, well-documented operating history dating to 2001, making it one of the more credible African-founded technology success stories with genuine global reach and consistent profitability, a rarity among internationally listed tech companies of comparable scale.
How Big Is Karooooo?
African Business magazine’s Top 250 (2025) recorded Karooooo’s revenue at $225.0 million and market value at $775.6 million, ranking it 182nd among Africa’s largest companies. More recent 2026 reporting shows continued acceleration: the company posted record Q1 2026 results with accelerating Cartrack revenue growth, and founder Zak Calisto’s personal stake in the company crossed $1 billion in value following those results, according to billionaires.africa, reflecting sustained investor enthusiasm for the group’s subscriber growth and margin profile.
Who Is the CEO of Karooooo?
Isaias “Zak” Jose Calisto has served as CEO and Executive Chairman since founding the company (as Cartrack) in 2001. He has been described in South African business media as “the billionaire CEO who left South Africa for Singapore,” reflecting Karooooo’s holding-company redomiciliation to Singapore ahead of its 2021 Nasdaq listing, even as its largest operating base and subscriber concentration remain in South Africa, where Cartrack originated and continues to serve its largest customer base.
Is Karooooo Publicly Traded?
Yes, Karooooo trades on both the Nasdaq (ticker KARO) and the JSE (ticker KRO), making it one of relatively few African-founded technology companies with a US listing, alongside its home-market JSE listing, giving it dual access to American growth-tech investors and South African domestic investors.
How Old Is Karooooo and How Did It Grow?
Zak Calisto founded Cartrack in South Africa in 2001 as a vehicle-tracking and recovery business, gradually adding fleet-management software, driver-behaviour analytics and insurance-telematics capabilities as the product matured over two decades. The 2021 creation of the Singapore-incorporated Karooooo holding structure and subsequent Nasdaq listing marked the company’s transition from a South African success story into a globally listed technology group, while Cartrack has continued to expand its subscriber base across Africa, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, crossing two million South African subscribers alone by 2026 alongside substantial international subscriber growth.
How Does Karooooo Compare to Its Competitors?
In fleet management and vehicle telematics, Karooooo/Cartrack competes globally with players such as Geotab, Samsara and Verizon Connect, and regionally with South African rivals like MiX Telematics (since acquired by PowerFleet) and Netstar. Cartrack differentiates itself through its high subscriber volumes, direct-to-consumer stolen-vehicle recovery angle, and profitable, cash-generative growth model relative to some venture-funded international peers that prioritise growth over near-term profitability.
What Has Karooooo Been in the News For Recently?
Recent news includes Cartrack surpassing two million South African subscribers, record Q1 2026 financial results with accelerating revenue growth and a hiked dividend payout, founder Zak Calisto’s stake crossing $1 billion, and subsequent insider stock sales by Calisto totalling over $17 million across several weeks in mid-2026, which drew scrutiny from South African financial media even as the underlying business continued to grow. Calisto has also been featured in Water Tower Research’s Small-Cap Spotlight series in 2026, discussing Karooooo’s growth strategy and international expansion plans with institutional investors.
Links
Website: https://karooooo.com/
Careers Page: Not found
LinkedIn: https://sg.linkedin.com/company/karooooo
Email: Not publicly listed
FAQ
Is Karooooo the same as Cartrack? Cartrack is Karooooo’s core operating subsidiary and primary revenue driver; Karooooo Ltd. is the Singapore-incorporated listed holding company.
Who is the CEO of Karooooo? Zak Calisto, who is also Executive Chairman and founder.
Is Karooooo publicly traded? Yes, dual-listed on the Nasdaq (KARO) and JSE (KRO).
How big is Karooooo? Roughly $775.6 million market value per African Business Top 250 (2025), with continued growth reported through 2026.
Where is Karooooo headquartered? Incorporated in Singapore, with its largest operating base in Johannesburg, South Africa via Cartrack.
When was Cartrack/Karooooo founded? Cartrack was founded in 2001 by Zak Calisto; the Karooooo holding structure listed on Nasdaq in 2021.