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              Uber Seeks to Lure Cabbies in Africa Expansion Plan

   by Reuters

   U.S.-based Uber plans to expand in Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana this year
   and will focus on convincing traditional taxi drivers to work for the
   ride-hailing service, said Alon Lits, Uber's general manager for
   sub-Saharan Africa.

   Traffic-clogged roads, high rates of urban crime and a lack of credit
   cards are big challenges Uber faces in sub-Saharan Africa, where it
   operates in seven cities in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.

   But its biggest problem is the one it faces from Rome to Rio; the
   friction with traditional taxi drivers who see Uber as a threat to
   their livelihoods.

   In the Kenyan capital Nairobi, Uber's fastest-growing market in
   sub-Saharan Africa, an Uber driver was attacked and his car torched
   last month after the government rejected calls by Kenya's taxi
   association to ban the company.

   "Part of our strategy when we launch in new markets will be that
   engagement up front with taxi operators," Lits told Reuters in an
   interview in Nairobi. "We will be doing a better job of engaging."

   That strategy will involve convincing traditional taxi drivers to work
   for Uber, showing them they can continue working on their own, but when
   they don't have a fare they can also choose to use the Uber smartphone
   app to pick up passengers and make extra money.

   Lits said Uber, which operates in more than 400 cities worldwide, will
   set up East and West Africa "hubs" in Nairobi and Lagos to act as
   launch pads for forays into Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana, and would begin
   operating in a second city each in Nigeria and Kenya.

   "We feel we are at a point now where we have a strong sense for what it
   takes to build a successful Uber business in Africa," Lits said.

   In Europe and North America, Uber accounts are tied to a customer's
   credit card, eliminating the need for cash. But in sub-Saharan Africa,
   where only about a third of people own a bank account, low credit card
   usage has presented another obstacle to Uber's growth.

   Lits said Uber's experiment in Kenya to let riders pay fares with cash
   or via mobile money had boosted growth in Nairobi, where about 100,000
   people open the Uber app once a month.

   "It's definitely going to be part of our strategy as we push across
   Africa," he said.

   Lits said Uber's overtures to prospective full-time Uber drivers in
   sub-Saharan Africa -- where the company launched in 2013 -- will be
   mainly financial. As with traditional taxis, most Uber drivers rent
   their vehicles, which eats into their income.

   In Kenya and Nigeria, the company is looking to make it cheaper for
   Uber drivers to rent vehicles.

   In South Africa, the company has teamed up with a financing company to
   help drivers obtain car loans based on their work history with Uber,
   including the customer ratings they received on the app.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/uber-seeks-to-lure-cabbies-africa-exp
   ansion-plan/3228525.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/uber-seeks-to-lure-cabbies-africa-expansion-plan/3228525.html