The bike-hailing app, SafeBoda, announced on November 16, plans to pause operations in Kenya.
The pause commences from November 27, 2020, as it is yet to recover from the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was a hard decision for us to make but we are still dedicated to empowering communities. Thank you for being a part of the #NduthiGang. We love you🧡 pic.twitter.com/AsuB5j6tWn
— SafeBoda Kenya (@SafeBoda_Kenya) November 16, 2020
Announcing via a statement, SafeBoda said that the decision was a hard one to take.
However, it explained that the business had been hit hard by the pandemic.
Coronavirus didn’t just affect the economic situation of the ride-hailing company, it also affected other businesses across the globe.
SafeBoda launched into the Kenyan market in July 2018 and joined five other ride-hailing services like Taxify and Mondo.
However, SafeBoda said Nairobi, Kenya, is seeing some economic recovery from the pandemic, although, the business cannot be sustained in the environment.
It added that there is no certainty to its full recovery.
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Placing the community as its core, those who cannot use their wallet money till November 27 get a refund.
SafeBoda promised that all refunds will go into individuals’ M-PESA accounts.
Also, it sympathised with the drivers and their families who will feel the decision’s negative effect.
Its expansion and growth
Although the African based company started in Uganda, it has expanded to other parts of Africa, like Kenya and Nigeria.
It joined other ride-hailing services like Taxify, UberBoda and Mondo to help modernise the informal transportation sector.
It has a large foot in Nigeria and Uganda but has been wavering with other top competitors in Kenya.
SafeBoda launched in Nairobi, a populated city in Kenya in 2018 with 100,000+ installs.
It aimed at providing the city with a safe, fast, affordable ride around the city.
As well as professionalising the ‘Boda’ industry and building a law-abiding community of 4000 riders with great customer service.
Before the launch, it had been training the riders and making plans to integrate the M-PESA payment into its system.
It successfully launched and has been running for over two years.
Over two years of business in Nairobi, SafeBoda said that its customers’ had enjoyed its services.
Also, it added that it had completed millions of rides around the city.
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