Uber came to Africa to disrupt transport. Then Africa changed Uber.
Africa spent a decade teaching Uber how on-demand mobility works in a cash economy on unmapped roads.
In January 2016, Uber launched a cash experiment in Lagos, allowing riders to pay drivers in local currency. This innovation was later adopted globally. However, a decade later, Uber closed operations in Nigeria and Uganda without warning, following exits from other African markets. Drivers and riders who had come to rely on the platform were suddenly cut off.
Despite Uber's initial aim to formalize transport in Africa, the platform now exists only as a premium service for a small group of commuters. The economics of ride-hailing no longer align with the realities of an inflation-ridden, cash-heavy market. InDrive, a competitor, took a different approach by allowing haggling over fares and letting drivers refuse trips without penalty.
This flexibility has made inDrive the leading ride-hailing service in Nigeria, with 66% market share. Uber's response to the changing market has been to focus on quality, including safety tools, but the fundamental issue remains the disparity between the platform's design and the realities of an African cash economy.
Written by urgent.news from TechCabal's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
