Uber on September 2 drew the curtains on its operations in Uganda and Nigeria, exiting the East African country after 12 years.
Lorraine Onduru, the company’s Head of Communications for East and West Africa, however, said the decision is limited to Uganda and Nigeria and will not affect its operations elsewhere on the continent, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, ‘where it continues to see growth and long-term opportunities’.
Uber said it had taken the ‘difficult decision’ after ‘a thorough review’ and that its immediate priority was to support drivers, riders and local team members through the transition, with support services continuing for 21 days. Throughout the evening of September 2, its drivers and riders received notifications to that effect.
While Uber did not give specific reasons for leaving Uganda, a combination of factors, including an increasingly challenging market, a mass exit of drivers, operating costs and other pressures, allegedly made its operations untenable in Uganda, where it launched the country’s first major app-based ride-hailing service 12 years ago.
One of the former employees, who worked for Uber when it had just entered Uganda but declined to be named because he is now working for a competitor, said some of his colleagues took on the job as a part-time occupation while maintaining established employment elsewhere, to which they gave their unfettered loyalty.
‘I worked with Uber for the first two years and later retained it as a part-time until I eventually left,’ he said, warning that the transport business, including special hires, had become ‘erratic’ and faced an uncertain future.
Another former worker, who asked to be identified only as Peter, attributed Uber’s exit to the earlier closure of its physical offices.
‘They have spent three years without physical offices in Uganda; they first closed their office in Lugogo and we started doing everything virtually, and that applied to all clients and drivers,’ he said, fuelling speculation that the company could have meticulously planned its exit earlier.
He added that before announcing its closure, the company introduced ‘agent offices’ to facilitate physical interactions, although the effort was considered too little, too late, as most clients and drivers had already fully embraced virtual operations.
The conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine pushed petrol prices past the Shs6,500 mark per litre, leaving many drivers unable to operate, while others uninstalled the app, which often charged less than what other drivers or riders charged for similar trips.
‘The only solution left was to uninstall the App; it wasn’t a must that one must drive Uber. Uninstalling the App would make clients shift allegiance to non-registered motorcycles,’ Peter said.
‘Drivers resorted to downloading the client App and sending out requests to whichever client was online before driving them to their desired destination using the unconventional way (without the App),’ he added.
Uber’s exit leaves SafeBoda, which had already established itself as a major player in Kampala’s motorcycle transport market but later joined the car-hailing market with SafeCar in 2022; and Taxify, which rebranded as Bolt in 2018 and expanded beyond car-hailing into boda boda and delivery services.
Other players include Faras, Yango and Tinka, among others.
Little joins market
Little, a technology-driven mobility and digital services platform, has joined the market with an aim to connect customers to services that make movement and everyday life simpler, while creating opportunities for driver-partners, businesses and service providers.
Casper Njoga, Country Manager, Little Uganda, said mobility was not simply about getting from one point to another, but about giving people the confidence to plan their day knowing they have access to transport they can depend on.
‘That is what we are building with Little, and are here to serve the market, understand what our customers need, and keep improving the experience,’ he said, adding that they believe when driver-partners have a positive experience, customers benefit too.
According to him, Little’s commitment extends beyond riders to its driver-partners, with the lowest commission rates in the market and instant access to earnings, creating a stronger ecosystem that supports the people behind every journey.
‘Ugandans deserve a mobility service they can count on every day,’ Mr Njoga said, adding: ‘That is the commitment we are making. Little is here, we are listening to our customers and driver-partners, and we are continuing to invest in making mobility better for Uganda.’