How Bolt is looking to grow in Africa

Uber's main competitor in Africa, Bolt wants to accelerate its development on the continent and has announced an investment of 500 million euros.

Bolt is a modest challenger, to say the least, if we compare the results in the world of Uber and the Estonian company. In Africa, Uber can rely on good results: last May, the American claimed to have carried out 1 billion trips in Africa, since its establishment in 2016. But, when we talk about Africa, Bolt would not be it not taking the fold on its historic competitor?

The VTC company operates in seven African countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Tunisia. Markets that represent 47 million customers, 900 drivers and more than a billion journeys. However, the Estonian company does not want to stop on such a good path, even if, last summer, it mentioned difficulties in the regulatory environments of certain countries and even spoke of stopping its activities in Tanzania.

Last week, the Bolt company finally announced, while its CEO was traveling in South Africa, that it wanted to invest 500 million euros over the next two years, just for its activities in Africa. This will represent more than 300 new jobs

Uber and Bolt bet on East Africa

“As many companies are reducing their investments given the macro environment, we recognize the transformative effect that platforms like Bolt can have in Africa. We operate in markets where unemployment is often high and by continuing to develop our services we will provide new opportunities for people to earn a good living as a driver, while providing millions of customers with a safe, reliable and affordable way to to travel to their cities," said Bolt's Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Takura Malaba.

To develop, Bolt relies in particular on the growing penetration of smartphones, particularly in East Africa. The Estonian has also launched a business service, offering its services to business travelers in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania and Kenya.

It remains to be seen how Uber will react to Bolt's investment announcement. Because the American giant has managed to adapt to the innovations of its competitor in recent years. In 2016, in Kenya, for example, Uber halved its fares to be able to compete with Bolt's cheap prices.