Estonian-based ride-hailing firm Bolt is introducing its services in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, pitting it against the only other car-booking service in the city, inDrive. As part of the service rollout, Bolt is waiving its normally 15-20% commission fee for drivers for six months, already onboarding 100 drivers.
The launch in Botswana signifies Bolt’s continued expansion in Southern Africa, having recently introduced its platform in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Namibia within the previous half-year. Since its first debut in South Africa in 2016, Bolt has now established its presence in 14 African countries.
Laurent Koerge, Bolt’s head of expansion, expressed excitement over launching the services in Botswana. He added that the company’s objective is to boost its drivers’ income while ensuring competitive pricing to sustain high demand.
Although there’s high potential for growth in Botswana’s ride-hailing market, it’s also fraught with challenges as inDrive, the first platform in the country, has discovered. Since its launch five years ago, inDrive has faced numerous problems, including allegations of driver malfeasance and resistance from public transportation operators despite its popularity.
To overcome these issues, Bolt has incorporated features such as an emergency SOS button enabling instant police contact, a function that ensures particular drivers and riders are never paired, and a ride-sharing function displaying real-time journey information. Furthermore, Bolt insists that its drivers possess all necessary local licenses.
Earlier in 2023, Bolt unveiled plans to inject over €500 million into the African market, aiming to create jobs for over 300,000 driver partners. Globally, Bolt operates in 45 countries, servicing more than 150 million customers, and partners with over 3 million drivers.
