By 
Uber Technologies has shut down its ride-hailing operations in Nigeria and Uganda, effective September 2, 2026, marking the fourth and fifth African market exits for the San Francisco based company in just over a year. The closures landed on the same day CEO Dara Khosrowshahi announced the company's largest round of layoffs since the COVID-19 pandemic, cutting approximately 3,300 jobs, or 10 percent of its global workforce.
In a statement sent to riders and drivers in both countries, Uber said the decision followed "a thorough review of our business" and would take effect immediately. The company's help centres in both markets will remain open until September 23 to resolve outstanding disputes and refunds, but the ride-hailing app itself went dark the same day the notice was sent.
"This decision is limited strictly to these two markets and does not impact our operations across the rest of the continent," an Uber spokesperson said. "Uber remains deeply committed to Sub-Saharan Africa, where we continue to see robust growth and long-term opportunity."
The exit ends a 12-year run in Nigeria, where Uber launched in Lagos in 2014 before expanding into other cities and even introducing a boat service in 2019 to help commuters navigate the city's notorious traffic congestion. In Uganda, Uber had operated for a decade, having entered Kampala in 2016.
A pattern of withdrawal across the continent
Nigeria and Uganda are not isolated cases. Uber left Côte d'Ivoire in September 2025 after six years of operations, ceding the Abidjan market to Russia's Yango. It then exited Tanzania on January 30, 2026, following a prolonged standoff with the Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LATRA) over fixed fares and commission caps, a dispute that had already forced a nine-month suspension in 2022 before Uber briefly returned in 2023.
With Nigeria and Uganda gone, Uber's African footprint has narrowed from nine countries to five: South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Egypt and Morocco. The company entered the continent through Johannesburg in 2013, and South Africa alone still accounts for roughly 25 of the cities where Uber operates in Africa.
The underlying pressures in Nigeria and Uganda mirror those that pushed Uber out of Tanzania and Côte d'Ivoire: rising fuel and vehicle maintenance costs, intensifying competition from Bolt, inDrive, SafeBoda and other regional platforms, and recurring driver disputes over fares and commission structures. In Nigeria, the removal of the fuel subsidy in 2023 and the naira's depreciation sharply increased operating costs for drivers, and in March 2026 drivers working across Uber, Bolt and inDrive staged protests arguing that platform prices no longer covered their expenses. Ibrahim Ayoade, general secretary of the Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transporters of Nigeria, told BusinessDay he was surprised by the timing given that Nigeria had previously been identified as a growth market for the company.
Layoffs, remote work cuts, and a robotaxi pivot
The market exits landed alongside a sweeping internal restructuring. Khosrowshahi told staff in a memo that Uber would eliminate about 3,300 roles, reduce the number of employees positioned seven or more reporting layers below the CEO by 20 percent, and cut the number of "micro-teams" with only one or two direct reports by nearly half. Uber had approximately 34,000 employees worldwide at the end of 2025, according to its annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, meaning the cuts affect roughly one in ten employees globally.
The restructuring also tightens Uber's approach to remote work. The company will require most remote staff to relocate closer to an office, concentrating much of its workforce around hubs in San Francisco and New York, and will limit fully remote employees to less than 1 percent of its total headcount going forward. Uber said it would also reinforce compliance with its existing hybrid work policy, which requires three days a week in the office.
Khosrowshahi framed the changes as an effort to make the company "simpler and faster" and to "create more capacity to invest in our future," pointing to plans to redirect savings toward growth initiatives and autonomous vehicle development, an area where the company has signalled investment exceeding 10 billion dollars. The cuts follow narrower reductions earlier in 2026, including a 23 percent cut to Uber's People and Places division in June and a 10 percent reduction in its Community Operations customer service group in July.
Notably, the layoffs come during a period of financial growth rather than contraction. Uber reported gross bookings of 58 billion dollars for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, up 24 percent year over year, with revenue of 14.2 billion dollars, up 12 percent, and non-GAAP net income growing 29 percent to 1.7 billion dollars. The restructuring, therefore, appears oriented toward organisational efficiency and reinvestment priorities rather than a response to weakening demand.
What it means for Kenya's ride-hailing sector
Uber has given no indication that it intends to leave Kenya, and the company has publicly separated the Nigeria and Uganda decisions from its operations elsewhere on the continent. Still, the exits carry lessons for a market where regulatory debate over ride-hailing has intensified. A senior Uber executive, speaking to Capital FM Kenya on condition of anonymity, said regulatory uncertainty was already shaping investment decisions locally. "So already, what we're finding is the appetite to invest in Kenya is reduced," the executive said, adding that a recent investment request for the Kenyan market had been turned down.
The comment lands as Kenyan authorities weigh tighter oversight of the sector, including proposals under consideration on minimum driver compensation and fare structures. A TIFA Research survey released in August estimated that between 300,000 and 350,000 drivers are active in Kenya's ride-hailing industry. Bolt raised its fares in Kenya by about 6 percent in May, citing higher fuel and operating costs, an adjustment that illustrates the same cost pressures that have strained Uber's economics elsewhere on the continent.
Africa's broader ride-hailing market continues to expand despite Uber's retreat. According to Mordor Intelligence's Africa Ride-Hailing Market Analysis, the sector is projected to grow from 2.53 billion dollars in 2025 to 2.64 billion dollars in 2026, reaching 3.25 billion dollars by 2031. That growth is being driven by wider smartphone penetration, expanding mobile money infrastructure and continued investment in digital mobility platforms, factors that have made the continent attractive even as individual operators like Uber recalibrate where they choose to compete.
For drivers in Nigeria and Uganda, the immediate concern is transition rather than long-term market dynamics. Many already operate across multiple platforms, meaning supply could migrate quickly to Bolt, inDrive and SafeBoda. Uber has not disclosed compensation or exit packages for affected drivers in either country, saying only that it has been in touch with active drivers to extend support during the transition period.
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