>
Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Ugandan bike-hailing startup, SafeBoda is reportedly set to exit Nigeria.
According to Techpoint.Africa, SafeBoda wants to focus on “bringing the company to profitability by deepening its core transportation offering” in Uganda, its largest market.
SafeBoda had earlier exited Kenya in November 2020, less than two years after expanding its services to the country.
The company said at the time that the development was due to the negative effects of COVID-19 on its operations.
SafeBoda is reportedly exiting Nigeria because the bike-hailing industry “in its current state is not economically viable and unfortunately requires significant investment at this challenging time in the global economic landscape.”
Launched in Kampala, Uganda, in 2017, SafeBoda claims to be upending the offline market for local motorcycles known as boda-bodas in Uganda and Okadas in Nigeria.
It launched in Ibadan, Nigeria, in December 2019, but began operations in March 2020.
In March 2022, the company announced that it had completed over three million rides and 50,000 deliveries, with over 10,000 riders and 100,000 passengers.
In August 2022, SafeBoda launched its car-hailing service, SafeCar, in Kampla, Uganda. A month later, it also launched its car-hailing service in Ibadan, Nigeria.
It is, however, unknown if its exit from Nigeria will also impact its car-hailing service.
