Despite facing challenges in Europe, ride-hailing firm Uber has now launched in Ivory Coast’s commercial capital Abidjan.
The launch on Thursday forms part of the company’s expansion into African markets as it faces competition from Estonia-based Bolt.
Uber operates in 16 cities in sub-Saharan Africa with massive presence in South Africa and east Africa. In West Africa Uber has presence in countries like Nigeria and Ghana.
Uber said in a statement on Thursday that Abidjan which is a commercial hub of nearly 5 million people, was a “perfect fit”.
“This means that for the thousands of taxi operators in Abidjan, there will be new clients for every single driver, in addition to the number they already have now,” Alon Lits, Uber’s general manager for sub-Saharan Africa, said.
In October this year, Uber launched a pilot test of a boat service in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos.
It was meant to attract commuters seeking to avoid the notorious heavy traffic situation in the populated and congested commercial city.
Called the UberBOAT, the waterway service was operated in partnership with local boat operator Texas Connection Ferries and the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA).
Uber said in a statement that “This initiative is aimed at providing commuters with an easy and affordable way to get in and out of the city’s business districts.”
These initiatives show how committed Uber is to expanding into the African market where transportation is a major problem.
Source: Africafeeds.com
