HOW UBER IS E MPOWERING WO M EN IN A FRICA By Marjorie Saint-Lot, Head of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, Uber
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or the past 10 years, Uber has been a leading force in transforming the way people move in many of the cities across Africa. While the platform’s key purpose remains to provide reliable, convenient and affordable mobility for all, in Sub-Saharan Africa it also has a strong focus on positively impacting the lives of women, both in terms of providing them with access to safe transport and empowering them economically.
In many parts of Africa, women have traditionally been excluded from the formal workforce and still have limited opportunities to earn an income. Uber is changing this paradigm by providing a platform for women to become flexible entrepreneurs and earn money on their terms. This is enabling many women in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and across the continent, to gain financial independence and support themselves and their families. The shift is a direct result of Uber’s ongoing commitment to women on the continent, demonstrated through an array of initiatives aimed specifically at empowering women in Africa. GigSister, an initiative of Women@Uber, is designed to connect, grow and empower a community of women drivers on the platform through an array of initiatives. We believe our work is never done and we are in the process of developing other tailor-made solutions for women drivers in other markets.
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I’m very privileged to have the opportunity to spearhead many of these women empowerment programmes. In addition to my role as Head of Uber’s operations in Ghana and Ivory Coast, I am also the sponsor of the Women Driver Programme in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and I co-chair Women@Uber in SSA. My involvement with organisations and initiatives like these has taught me many valuable lessons over the years, but arguably the most significant of these has been the importance and power of partnerships in enabling effective women empowerment across the continent. Uber is applying this insight to expand its female empowerment reach and impact in Africa, and we proactively seek out like-minded partners to help transform our passion for building a better, opportunity-rich world for women into a reality. In the case of the #GigSister movement, for example, strong
