i.t leadership

ARTICLE by STEVE MBEGO

Uber Prepares For The African Future

Imran Manji is the leader of one of the world’s most successful and innovative companies, which has transformed the way we think about transportation and mobility. Founded in 2009, Uber has grown from a small start-up to a global brand with operations in more than 65 countries and millions of active users. In this interview, we will discuss Manji’s vision for Uber East Africa, the challenges and opportunities facing Uber, and his thoughts on the future of transportation.

i.t leadership

When Uber, the digital taxi sharing company, marked their 9th anniversary in Africa in September 2022, it announced it had topped a billion rides in the nine African countries where it operates, signalling the growth potential for the firm. It also revealed that it is expanding to more cities across Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana. However, as Uber expands its footprint in Africa, it must deal with existing critical issues such as ensuring the safety of riders, striking drivers, and emerging ones such as new regulations, and competition from local tech start-ups offering similar services. Imran Manji, Head of East Africa shares how he manages to ensure the company operations remains seamless and meets the challenging demands of all its critical stakeholders as it eyes expansion into more East African towns.

What strategy are you using to expand to new cities in East Africa? Are you prepared with manpower resources?

Uber’s ambition is to be everywhere - any progressive, forward-thinking city that has a need for safe, reliable, and efficient transportation, we want to be there. We are proud of the growth that we have seen in our business across the African continent, and we are so excited to announce that we recently completed our billionth trip in Africa since we started operating. While each country offers its own unique opportunities, we have found the region to be defined by agility, creativity, and adaptability. This provides Uber with the perfect conditions to launch and nurture our on-demand economy in partnership with the local government.

What is the impact of the introduced percentage cap commission on Uber?

We believe that the commission cap that has been imposed is not conducive to doing business in Kenya, and is not good for drivers and riders, especially because it contributes to deterring foreign investment in the country, limiting the role that private businesses can play in supporting and growing the Kenyan mobility sector. We however remain committed to engaging with the

regulator, as we have done over the past seven years of our operations in Kenya. We remain committed to Kenya and to providing a platform to help unlock economic opportunities for drivers and enhanced mobility for Kenyans. NB: Uber have since adjusted their service fee from 25 per cent to 18 per cent in Kenya.

Other taxi-hailing apps are expanding to be super apps, is Uber following a similar path?

Now you can go anywhere and get anything with Uber. Whatever it is you want to do, no matter how big or small, we’re here to help fuel your life. We continuously introduce new product features to adapt to the changing landscape in mobility and consumer needs such as Uber Connect Moto and Car, which allows customers and small businesses to send and receive packages locally via Uber. We’re about much more than rides, meals, and deliveries. We’re committed. And we’re making a stand for what we believe in—all the while helping to fuel your ambition and go-get-it spirit.

Uber was recently hacked in the US. Did it have a trickle-down effect on East Africa? What is Uber doing to protect the data privacy of East Africans?

Uber takes action to pursue our mission of being a trusted steward of our users’ personal data in every market where we operate. On Data Privacy Day 2021, we published our privacy principles externally. Our privacy team is constantly building new privacy features and tools for our users. Over the past few years, we’ve released features that explain how your data is used at different points in your trip experience, make your data available to view and download, and give you more control over your ads and marketing settings. Now, we’re bringing them all together in our privacy centre. As Uber continues to be an industry leader in privacy innovation, we plan to add new features and information to the privacy centre.

How is Uber Eats performing in the food delivery business? What edge do you have over other competitors?

The delivery marketplace is a sunrise industry with the potential for massive development and expansion across the continent, with the potential to reach over 30 million people with Uber Eats’ unique technology-driven delivery services. It is our aspiration of building an app of the future by creating a virtual mall experience that goes beyond just food. Other categories we have ventured into include convenience stores, pharmacy outlets, alcohol, and retail and this shows us that the possibilities are endless. Uber Eats also continues to push beyond boundaries with the adoption of the growing trend of dark stores, which gives non-traditional merchants opportunities to tap into unchartered markets that they wouldn’t have easily accessed. With a 67 per cent year on year (YOY) growth of subscriptions on Eats, we are humbled and encouraged by the expansion that we have seen in South Africa and Kenya. Uber Eats has also rolled out new features across Sub-Saharan Africa such as item replacements, which allows consumers to choose the next best item if the original item is out of stock and Safety Age Verification for customers to scan their IDs to confirm they are of legal age to purchase alcohol and pharmacy items.

How is the Kenyan market different from other EA markets? What is the future of Uber in EA? Does it involve drones and choppers?

Ride-hailing as an industry has transformed how we explore and discover our cities, and since its launch in Kenya in 2016, Uber has been a partner to the city by providing improved mobility options, economic contribution through flexible earnings for drivers and contribution to government revenues. Since entering the market in Africa in 2013, we have created over 3 million economic opportunities across SSA. We pride ourselves in building locally using global expertise.

Each country’s needs are unique so we take the time to understand each of the market needs so we can be responsive and adapt accordingly. This has allowed us to develop bespoke and localised solutions, to ensure that we act as part of a broader and responsible African community in the expansion of our business model in the region. After we spent time researching the market and listening to the public’s requests for more options, we decided to introduce products that resonate with local markets such as Uber Go, Uber Chapchap, UberPOA and Uber Boda. We have, however, made it easier for riders travelling across the city with an entire crew with the launch of UberXL in Nairobi, Kenya. This option provides seating for up to 6 people and extra luggage and is great for airport trips and even for groups who are making a business trip. While drones and choppers is something that Uber has launched in other cities, this isn’t something we are looking at for the East Africa market. and we continue to innovate to find new ways to promote safety, such as our GPS tracking and location sharing features, and our one-stop in-app safety centre with emergency assistance button, to name just a few. We recently launched new safety features. Based on research, most riders seem to be unaware of the safety features available to them. As a result, Uber has launched Safety Check-up which will encourage riders to complete their safety profile by turning on and utilising available features such as Trusted Contacts, PIN verification and RideCheck.

What was your worst day as Uber Head of East Africa and how did you handle it?

Unfortunately, the worst day so far has been when we had to make the decision to pause our operations in Tanzania. The regulator in Tanzania had published a new directive that directed ride hailing companies on where they should set prices and limited the service fee we could charge in the country. As we charge the same service fee in all our markets, it presented us with an impossible situation. It’s such a shame as Tanzania is an important country for Uber.

As to how I handled it, I tried to be hopeful that not all is lost, and that the situation could be salvaged. We are currently in talks with the regulators, and we are hopeful that we will be able to resume operations in TZ soon!

What kind of car do you drive and why?

I have been driving a 4WD which is a legacy from my old role where I would often drive out into the country. I hadn’t changed my car yet as I was enjoying the extra space, but now that we have Uber XL, I sold my car last week!

How do you maintain a great work-life balance?

I am very lucky to work for a great company like Uber which embraces a hybrid work style. I am in the office every day, but I can leave before the traffic starts, saving 30 minutes on a commute allows for a few extra minutes with the family before the next work call starts!