Bolt, one of the leading ride-hailing services in the world, has appointed Femi Akin-Laguda as the Country Manager for its operations in Nigeria.
Having served in various capacities at Bolt over the last three years most recently as City Manager for Lagos where he engineered the introduction of an identity verification portal- a first of its kind safety feature for drivers and riders in the country, Akin-Laguda has been selected to drive the company’s operations and expansion moves across Nigeria.
“As a company deeply committed to raising transformational leaders, we are excited to have Femi run operations and lead the Nigerian team to execute a global vision of transforming urban mobility and empowering thousands of young people within the local ecosystem.
“We are thrilled about what this means for our business as we continue to rapidly scale and widen the scope of our operations in Nigeria,” Bolt’s Regional Manager for West Africa, Uche Okafor said.
“At Bolt, we will continue to find innovative ways to make our platform thrive whilst empowering our people to champion new roles and frontiers. We are also committed to rewarding excellence and diligence. This is the reason we are elated to appoint Femi as his performance on previous roles have been stellar.”
Formerly known as Taxify, Bolt is one of the fastest-growing transportation platforms in Europe and Africa with more than 30 million passengers and operations in 35 countries. In 2019, Bolt extended its coverage in Nigeria – setting up new 6 cities and increasing its reach to 11 states in the country.
Prior to joining Bolt, Akin-Laguda has worked in insurance brokering, utilities, engineering, national security, and technology. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from the University of Ghana.
Speaking on his appointment, Femi said: “I am excited about Bolt’s future in Nigeria and can’t wait to take on this challenge in leading the drive to deliver value for all our customers and ensure that Bolt achieves its mission of making urban transportation more convenient and affordable for Nigerians.”