Uber, an American mobility service provider, has gone beyond the normal ride-sharing business, to meet the evolving needs of riders and small businesses by launching the Uber Connect in Lagos.
The service named ‘Uber Connect’ leverages the agility of Uber’s platform to efficiently send parcels and goods from one consumer or small business to another in Lagos.
Toke Akinwumi, Country manager for Uber Nigeria, noted that the platform also provides new revenue streams and earning opportunities for drivers.
“What we have learnt over the past two years ,is that the benefits of uber’s technology platform extend beyond the actual ride sharing abilities of Uber, and with the e-commerce and last mile delivery sector expecting to grow by about 11 percent by 2025 ( statista), It is more important to leverage our technology,” Akinwumi said.
According to her, the launch of the platform is an example of leveraging the technology to achieve the proposed growth by 2025.
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Meanwhile, while speaking about the progress of the company in 2021, the country manager explained that the rollout of covid-19 vaccines and relaxing of some restrictions over the course of the year meant that the country could recover slowly allowed the company to expand into new cities in Nigeria which includes port Harcourt and Ibadan, making the Uber App available in 5 cities across the country.
“We also witnessed international travel pick up again as we saw an uptake in travel with trips to and from Abuja airport increasing by 6.48 percent and in Benin City, we saw an increase of 67.69 requests from the airport during September and October. An Uber rider in Lagos topped the charts in Nigeria with an impressive 1374 trips this year, showcasing the need for convenient travel,” she added.
She disclosed that the Uber platform was a bridge to sustainable earnings with one driver clocking in over 4123 trips during the year despite the challenges of 2021 while explaining that the number of users who tipped increased to 59 percent compared to the previous year.
However, she expresses delight on the business opportunities in Nigeria and pledges to help people take reliable and affordable trips, while providing avenues for meaningful economic opportunities.
