Uber is closing its operations in Nigeria and Uganda with immediate effect, a sharp pullback from two markets it entered years ago and had continued to serve until now. The company said the decision follows a thorough review of its business and will be limited to those two countries.
The move matters now because it hits drivers, employees and riders at once, and it comes alongside Uber's plan to cut 3,300 jobs globally, a reminder that the company is tightening across its business even as it reshapes its Africa footprint. Uber said it will support affected employees and drivers, and its help centre will stay open for Nigeria and Uganda until 23 September to deal with outstanding issues.
Uber entered Nigeria in 2014 and expanded into Uganda two years later. In the years since, its business in Nigeria has faced repeated pressure from drivers and operators who complained that app prices were too low, commission charges were too high and running costs kept rising. Those grievances fed protests and industrial action in the market, while the company also tried to widen its offer, including a boat service in Lagos in 2019.
The company said the decision is confined strictly to Nigeria and Uganda and does not affect its work elsewhere on the continent. It said it remains committed to sub-Saharan Africa and continues to see strong growth and opportunity there, even though it now operates only in Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa after pulling out of Ivory Coast and Tanzania over the last year. That leaves Nigeria and Uganda as the only African markets it is leaving in this round, a retreat that is broader than the wording around commitment suggests.
Uber did not give a public tally of how many drivers or riders in Nigeria and Uganda will be directly affected, which leaves the scale of the shutdown unclear. What is clear is that the company has chosen to exit immediately rather than wind down slowly, and that its support line will be the last official bridge for users and drivers trying to sort out unresolved trips, balances and account issues before 23 September.
