Uber may be negotiating its way back to London, may stop operations in Quebec, Canada due to tough regulations and may still recovering from management crises. Despite this, its acceptance in Africa seems to be waxing stronger according to data from the ride-hailing app.
The data showed that there 1.8 million active riders in Africa. The breakdown showed that South Africa and Kenya where Uber drivers have been attacked are their most lucrative markets.
South Africa ranks first with 969,000 active riders, while Kenya in second place, has 363,000 active users.
The data further revealed that there are 12,000 and 5,000 Uber drivers in South Africa and Kenya, respectively.
Ghana and Nigeria have 140,000 and 267,000 active riders respectively with about 7,000 drivers using the Uber app in Nigeria while Ghana has 3,000.
Uganda and Tanzania have 48,000 and 53,000 active riders respectively, with each country signing-up 1,000 drivers.
Uber’s General Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, Alon Lits, said the service has allowed people to have flexible working hours:
“Drivers love being as flexible as they like; earning what they want when they want to supplement their income.”
The company launched its operations on the continent four years ago and since then it revolutionised the transport system in Africa. This is perhaps why there has been a lot of attack on Uber drivers in different parts of the continent.
