Uber has announced that Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda are next on its African expansion plans. This announcement was made by Uber Sub-Saharan Africa General Manager, Alon Lits in a recent intereview with Reuters. It intends to set up East and West Africa “hubs” in Nairobi and Lagos to act as launchpads for forays into Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana, and would begin operating in a second city each in Nigeria and Kenya.
Alon also said that the company will focus on convincing traditional taxi drivers to work for the ride-hailing service.
“Part of our strategy when we launch in new markets will be that engagement up front with taxi operators, We will be doing a better job of engaging.”
He also mentioned that this will include convincing traditional taxi drivers to work for Uber as a way of showing them that they can continue working on their own, but when they don’t have a fare they can also choose to use the Uber smartphone app to pick up passengers.
The approach towards taxi drivers is an important one as Uber will naturally want to avoid a repeat of the issues it has encountered last year with taxi operators in a few African countries where it already operates, including South Africa.
Cash payments are also something it’ll incorporate into its African expansion plans as the company wants to reach the majority of African customers who do not have a bank account or credit card.
Lits said Uber’s experiment in Kenya to let riders pay fares with cash or via mobile money had boosted growth in Nairobi, where about 100,000 people open the Uber app once a month.
“It’s definitely going to be part of our strategy as we push across Africa,” he said.
“We feel we are at a point now where we have a strong sense for what it takes to build a successful Uber business in Africa,” Lits said.
Lits said Uber’s overtures to prospective full-time Uber drivers in sub-Saharan Africa – where the company launched in 2013 – will be mainly financial. As with traditional taxis, most Uber drivers rent their vehicles, which eats into their income.
In Kenya and Nigeria, the company is looking to make it cheaper for Uber drivers to rent vehicles.
In South Africa, the company has teamed up with a financing company to help drivers obtain car loans based on their work history with Uber, including the customer ratings they received on the app.
Uber operates in more than 400 cities worldwide
Source: Reuters
