With the series of regulatory clampdown it is suffering in some matured markets, the leading ride-hailing company Uber is hastening efforts to open up services in Africa especially as competitors are fast at its heels. To this end, it expanded its operations in West Africa with the launch in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. A moved observers say is overdue, especially with Abidjan’s metropolitan status and presence of Africa’s premier development financial institution, the African Development Bank (AfDB).

According to Uber, Abidjan, a commercial hub of nearly 5 million people, was a “perfect fit” adding that more than 50,000 people had tried to use its app there in the past year. “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.

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With this entrance into Cote d’Ivoire, Uber is now in three West African countries after its initial launch in Nigeria, and later in Ghana. Abidjan now brings to 16, the number of cities with Uber services across sub-Saharan Africa. 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.

There are also plans to launch in Dakar Senegal hopefully by 2020. Market watchers say that Uber wants to cover as much grounds as it could especially with Bolt coming up with nerve wrecking competition in Africa. Moreso, in places in Nigeria, there are other local competitions springing up some of which may venture outside Nigeria soonest, posing bigger threats to Uber’s market share.

Read also:Uber Sees Africa as Big Market Opportunity

Uber has experimented with new services in Africa, including ferries across the lagoon in Nigeria’s traffic-clogged megacity of Lagos, in a bid to woo the continent’s fast-growing population. This opens the door for Uber to innovate according to specific market needs.

Read also: Uber Targets More On Emerging Market, Launches Public Transport Services in India

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry