The global ride-hailing powerhouse Uber has delivered a sudden shake-up to its African operations, announcing an immediate full withdrawal from Nigeria — the continent’s most populous nation — and the East African country of Uganda. The company framed the exit as a “difficult decision” reached following a comprehensive review of its global business portfolio, ending 12 years of service in Nigeria and 8 years in Uganda, where it launched in 2014 and 2016 respectively.
The pullout comes as the company faces broader cost-cutting pressures worldwide: Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi recently confirmed the firm would slash 10% of its global workforce to align with shifting economic conditions. This latest exit marks the fourth African market Uber has abandoned in just 12 months, following earlier departures from Ivory Coast and Tanzania. After the restructuring, only four African countries will retain Uber operations: Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa.
In an official statement shared with the BBC, the company emphasized that the exit is isolated to Nigeria and Uganda, noting, “This decision is limited strictly to these two markets and does not impact our operations across the rest of the continent. We remain committed to sub-Saharan Africa, where we continue to see strong growth and opportunity.”
Long before the exit announcement, Uber had faced mounting operational headwinds in Nigeria. For years, local drivers have organized protests over uncompetitive app fares that failed to keep pace with skyrocketing fuel costs, alongside criticism that Uber’s commission fees cut too deeply into drivers’ already thin profits. Intense competition from rival platforms, including European rival Bolt, Russian-founded inDrive, and a growing cohort of domestic ride-hailing startups, also squeezed Uber’s market share in the country.
Over its decade-long tenure in Nigeria, Uber experimented with innovative service expansions to adapt to local conditions. In Lagos, the economic heartbeat of the country and one of the most gridlocked cities on Earth, the company launched a water taxi service in 2019 to help commuters avoid the city’s legendary daily traffic jams that routinely disrupt commercial and daily life. However, even these adaptations could not offset the increasingly challenging operating environment that has plagued all ride-hailing operators in Nigeria in recent years.
The situation worsened dramatically after Nigerian President Bola Tinubu removed decades-old national fuel subsidies following his 2023 election, a policy shift that sent fuel prices soaring and pushed up the cost of living across the country. This year, drivers were hit by a second wave of price increases, driven by global market volatility tied to the ongoing tensions between the United States and Iran.
For commuters in Uganda’s capital Kampala, Uber’s exit will bring significant changes to daily travel, local newspaper Daily Monitor reports. However, industry analysts note that the gap left by Uber will almost certainly be filled quickly by existing local and regional competitors, including Faras, Bolt, and motorcycle ride-hailing platform SafeBoda.
Uber has stated that it will provide support to all employees and drivers affected by the exit in both markets. The company’s local support centers will remain operational through September 23 to resolve any outstanding payments, account issues, or other concerns for users and workers in the two countries.