Uber has launched its digital wallet feature, Uber Cash this week in Sub-Saharan Africa in a partnership with San Francisco-based fintech startup Flutterwave, which operates as a B2B payment gateway that allows its clients to customize their payment application through API.

Uber Cash will go live in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda this week only. Uber Cash will increase the ride traffic on its app by reducing the friction during the payment process and by boosting the volume of funds sent to digital wallets. 

It will allow users to top up wallets using any of the remittance partners depending on the country active on Flutterwave in Africa. For example, Verve Card & Mobile Money in Nigeria, M-Pesa & EFT in Kenya, and EFT in South Africa. Uber Cash will also accept credits from Flutterwave’s Barter payment app in Africa. Although Uber will still accept payment by cash as the financial system is still in its developing phase in Africa. 

Uber has launched its services in Africa in 2015 and after that, it continues to adapt to the dynamics of local markets be it competition from local and global players or covid-19, in able to survive its business in the countries of Africa.  

Uber continued to run its business in Sub Saharan Africa during the pandemic, except for Lagos, Nigeria, and Uganda as there were strict government directives in those regions.

In line with the company’s global policy, it was also mandatory for drivers & riders in Africa to wear masks. Uber is also planning for leveraging facial recognition technology in the app to ensure that the drivers are wearing masks before they go for a ride. Also in Africa, Uber is also experimenting with placing impact-safe plastic dividers for its cars, especially in Kenya and Nigeria.

Uber also extended its ride-hail services to motorcycle and tuk-tuk taxies in 2018. The company also moved into delivery services in Africa, with Uber Eats. Now, in the times of pandemic, the company started delivering medical supplies in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in South Africa.

Uber further planning to expand its business in another African country Ethiopia and also exploring to include EV options to its service. Ethiopia is having the 2nd-largest population in Africa and the 7th biggest economy with the strongest demographic and extra-ordinary tech scene, and also the country expected to be the next digital hotspot in Africa.

With regards to EVs, there’s been an aggressive movement in Africa for over a year towards going for EVs for ride-hail and delivery use in the continent.

• Nigerian mobility startup MAX.ng raised a $7M funding in Series A round led by Yamaha to explore EVs in the year 2019. 
• The government of Rwanda has also established a national plan in partnership with the EV startup Ampersand to phase out traditional fossil-fueled vehicles for EVs.
• Last month, Vaya Africa a ride-hail mobility startup launched an electric taxi service, e-moto for passenger & delivery, and solar charging station network in Zimbabwe with a plan to expand the program across the entire continent. 

Why develop the on-demand e-scooter app in Africa:

When it comes to countries like the USA, the UK, or China, the landscape of on-demand ride service applications has reached its point of saturation, not about forming a plateau, but more about growing in a linear manner. This growth is bound to happen and the market will occasionally give rise to new players, but simultaneously expand the presence of already established giant players in the market. 

Therefore, it might be a good idea to look at other emerging markets and one of the least expected names in this spectrum is the African mobility market. Africa is always stereotyped to be economically downtrodden, but things have changed significantly now and the market is emerging like a Phoenix from the Ashes but yet to see the light of noon. 

Have a look at our dedicated blog on the African mobility market, to understand it in a better and a comprehensive way.

Some tips to launch your e-scooter business successfully in the African market:

➤ Customization of services:

The discrepancy in the income levels of the people in Africa would mean that the one-size-fits-all approach might not work in its diverse demography. Therefore, customization and personalization of the services are very important so that people can choose them according to their preferences. This illusion of having a choice goes a long way to sustain your business.

➤ Enabling cash as a default mode of payments:

As stated above the African finance system is primarily cash-driven, and more than 50% of Africans do not have bank accounts so they can’t make payments using credit cards/debit cards. So, unlike the other micro-mobility markets cash should never be just an option for payment but it should be the default mode of payment in your app. 

➤ Affordable rates:

Africa is one such market where people look for utility and not luxury. They care for the value of services they are getting in exchange for money and therefore, it is important for you to provide services that are economical and affordable.

➤ The cost to develop an on-demand e-scooter app:

The cost for developing an on-demand e-scooter application depends upon factors such as complexity of features enabled, technologies used in the development, enabling cloud data services, time is taken in the development process, and the hourly rate of the developers, etc. But considering the moderate rates with basic functionality of the app, it can somewhere cost you between $10000 to $50000. 

➤ Summing up:

The whole purpose of this blog comes down to a single notion, that there is a market for micro-mobility operators in Africa and it just waiting for someone to explore it to its full capacity.

It is an ideal lucrative opportunity for any business to not only mark their presence in the market but to thrive it by developing an app like Uber. But it is very important for you to choose the right tech partner as having up-to-date features and user-friendly application is the key reason behind the success of your business. 

Coruscate is having immense experience and specialization in the field of an e-scooter app development field and our white label solution Rohak is effective in terms of cost and time. Contact our experts now to have a detailed idea about our development process and pricing structure.