Ride-hailing companies eyeing to unlock massive business opportunities in West Africa
                     RRiiddee--hhaaiilliinngg  ccoomppaanniieess  
eeyyeeiinngg  ttoo  uunnlloocckk  maassssiivvee  
bbuussiinneessss  ooppppoorrttuunniititieess  iinn  
Weesstt  AAffrriiccaa
• The taxi booking business has rapidly boomed 
in many countries of the African continent. 
Especially countries of the West African region 
have witnessed big taxi players like Uber 
expanding their business in the region.
• Moreover, it has also seen the emergence of 
local taxi startups that have done well in many 
countries of this region.
TThhee W Weesst tA Afrfircicaann r ereggioionn c coonnssisiststs o of fm maannyy  
ccoouunntrtireiess l ilkikee
• Ghana, Guinea, •Saint Helena, 
• Guinea-Bissau, •Niger, 
•
• Nigeria, Benin, •Gambia, 
• Burkina Faso, •Senegal, 
• Cape Verde, •Sierra Leone, 
• •Mauritania, Côte d’Ivoire, 
•Ghana, 
• Liberia, •Mali. 
• Togo, 
• Saint Helena, 
TTaaxxi ib booookkiningg m maarrkkeett s statattss o of fW Weesstt A Afrfricicaa
• As per Statista, the total revenue in the ride-
hailing & taxi segment is estimated to reach 
around US$447m in the year 2020.
•  Moreover, the revenue is estimated to exhibit 
an annual rate of 20.3% (CAGR 2020-2024) 
which would result in the market volume of 
US$939m by the year 2024.
•  Apart from that the ARPU (average revenue per 
user) is projected to amount around US$37.70.
UUbbeerr e eyyeess t thhee  Weesstt--AAffrricicaann m maarrkkeett  
foforr e exxppaannssioionn
• Uber- the biggest ride-hailing firm in the world is now 
eyeing to expand into the region of West Africa. The 
company is in talks with the regulators to provide their 
ride-hailing services in the West-African countries.
• According to Uber, they have around 36,000 active 
drivers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Uber has its presence in 
the regions of South and East Africa but is largely 
absent from the Western region of the continent 
except for few countries like Ghana and Nigeria.
• As per the International Monetary Fund, Senegal 
and Ivory Coast are two of the fastest-growing 
economies of the world. 
• Moreover, Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy and is 
also the most populous African country.
• Not only Uber, but many other ride-hailing firms 
have also targeted West Africa for expansion. Uber 
started its operations in Lagos in July 2014, which is 
a megacity that has around 20 million people.
• As per United Nations predictions, Nigeria’s population could double 
by the year 2050 to 400 million people. 
• This would make Nigeria the third most populous country after 
China and India.
• Uber is also facing strong competition in few cities from Estonia 
from the ride-hailing rival firm Bolt which was earlier known as 
Taxify. 
• Bolt is making a profit by taking a smaller cut from all those drivers 
who are using their app.
RRididee--hhaailiilningg i nin G Ghhaannaa
• Ride-hailing in Ghana has evolved rapidly over 
the years. It has become a part of the Ghanian 
life construct, especially when it comes to 
Accra, the country’s capital city. 
• Let’s have a glimpse at how ride-hailing has 
been shaping up in the country.
UUbbeerr e enntteerrss G Ghhaannaa
• Uber entered Ghana in June 2016. Slowly and 
steadily Uber gained its place in the daily life 
of people with its convenient alternative for 
city transport. 
• People also accepted Uber’s services as the 
fares were quite cheap.
TTaaxxififyy e emmeerrggeess a ass a a r rivivaall
• One and a half year after Uber’s arrival, Taxify which is 
now known as Bolt got launched in Ghana in December 
2017. 
• Taxify’s arrival meant that the ride-hailing business is 
going to get bigger and bigger in Ghana
• Taxify’s arrival brought new dynamics in Ghana’s ride-
hailing market. Now, the people of Ghana were 
presented with alternatives to choose from.
•  This also brought all the factors that actually account 
for the real market activity to come into play.
CChhaalllelennggeess f afacceedd b byy t thhee r rididee--
hhaailiilningg i nindduussttrryy i nin G Ghhaannaa
• The rideshare industry in Ghana has faced a 
wave of challenges in the past few years. 
• The first concern is related to those drivers 
who attempted to circumvent the payment 
structure of the ride-sharing companies. 
• Since Uber is the most prominent player, it got 
affected the most as many of their drivers 
were indulging in this practice.
• The drivers would simply make the trip offline 
thus circumventing the need to pay to Uber. 
• Drivers would also start and stop trips 
instantly so that they can obtain the fare then, 
later on, perform the trip outside the 
platform.
MMaajojorr t taaxxi ip plalayyeerrss i nin  Weesstt A Affrricicaa
•Uber
•Bolt (Taxify)
•Oga Taxi
• Jekalo
• Conclusion
• A lot is happening in the West African countries as far as ride-hailing is 
concerned.
•  Taxi behemoths are now looking to enter this region so that they can 
leverage the ever-expanding population and make massive profits.
• At the same time, local companies are also emerging to take their slice 
of the cake. In the coming years, it will be interesting to see how the 
landscape of ride-hailing business shapes. 
• The next few years will clear the picture as to which ride-hailing 
company would unlock the enormous business potential in the region.
 Th ank  you