Ugandan motorcycle ride-hailing company SafeBoda has revealed plans to terminate operations in Kenya at the end of the month, a move that will render hundreds of motorcycle riders and call centre operators in the neighbouring country jobless.
In a statement, the company says that it will terminate operations in Kenya from November 27, only two years after launching operations, citing the negative impact of Covid-19 pandemic on business.
The company, will however, continue to operate in Uganda and Nigeria — a market it entered in May this year.
The Ugandan ride-hailing firm entered the Kenyan market in 2018 starting with operations in Nairobi, expanding to Mombasa last year.
“While Nairobi is seeing some economic recovery from Covid-19, boda transportation has been hit hard. This has meant our business cannot sustainably operate in this environment and unfortunately, the timeline for a full recovery is not certain,” SafeBoda said in a statement.
SafeBoda was founded in Kampala, Uganda in 2015. In addition to connecting drivers and riders, it offers an e-wallet service for paying for rides. The company has approximately 18,000 drivers in Uganda.
