It is estimated that by 2050, Africa’s population would have reached almost 2.5. billion. Within the continent’s many countries, the majority of these populations are likely to be concentrated within the business-friendly urban centres – cities.
As Africa enters a technology revolution, particularly within services, the pace of urbanisation will only increase, and the ever-pressing issue of mobility in Africa will increase with it.
With more people comes more road users and a greater need for speedy and efficient means of transportation. And with them comes consumerism and the need for more FMCG goods, to serve their needs, but getting these products to the cities is just as difficult as navigating around them.
Africa is estimated to now be home to 8 of the 15 fastest-growing economies in the world. However, poor infrastructure is one of the biggest barriers to economic growth, and many of those barriers exist at the basic level of adequate roads and ports. In 2014, only a quater of African road networkws paved, and in 2020, poor roads, rail and port facilities continue to delay the social and economic transformation of African societies.
The urban centres have not enjoy enough infrastructural upgrades to accommodate the influx of people. of people and their need for goods. Some foreign and home-grown tech solutions in the form of ride-hailing, car-sharing, and vehicles-on-demand came to address these very big problems. They are infiltrating the mobility sector, spurring its evolution and addressing the needs that arise as a consequence of rapid urbanisation.
Although Uber dominates the global ride-hailing market since it entered the continent in 2013, the latter half of the previous decade saw the rise of home-grown car-sharing start-ups such as Jekalo and Gozem, making car ownership and cars per capita in Africa amongst the lowest in the world.
However, it was not long before Estonia-based Bolt (formerly Taxify) took the lead in Africa’s ride-hailing market. Its rebranding in 2019 came as a means of signalling their broader focus on covering transport beyond car-sharing.
Where congested roads are the reality in the majority of urban centres, Bolt quickly pivoted to include bike-hailing as part of its offering, firstly in East Africa – a strategic investment to achieve its goal of dominating the African market by entering an additionally prolific means of transportation.
However, it is not the only one to move beyond cars in the transport sector. Lagos witnessed the two week trial UberBoat in October 2019, and while not much more has been seen on this front, there is no doubt that the competition for ride-hailing in Africa is far from over.
Like Bolt, many companies have chosen to combine long-standing transport solutions with tech, with a rise in start-ups focused on Africa’s ride-sharing on two wheels. Max and Gokada are just two mobility challengers within the bike-hailing market, and there are likely to be more to come.
Investors have recognised that having more cars on already poor roads proves a less efficient means of improving transport and have poured funds into navigating city traffic by bike . Yet, regulatory issues have arisen at the same pace as these start-ups, affecting the impact of these solutions.
Notable examples include the ban on motorcycles in Adis Ababa announced in July 2019 by the city Mayor, Takele Uma, citing concerns around the involvement of these vehicles in violent crimes, as well as, Lagos state government’s ban on the activities of commercial motorcycle, effective from February 1st 2020, which will have a significant impact on these start-ups, their contractors who rely on their vehicles and riders as their primary source of income, and of course, commuters.
