After months of anticipation on SafeBoda expanding further than Uganda, it is now certain that the Boda-hailing company is expanding Eastwards. In an announcement made by Alastair Sussock, Co-CEO at SafeBoda, the startup's services are now live in Nairobi, Kenya.
In a competitive market that also includes Taxify, Mondo, Dial Jack and UberBODA; SafeBoda has grown to become a force to reckon in the East African boda-hailing market.
This is evident in the number of riders available, the customer ratings, as well as the reception across the region.
A quick hint to a Kenyan expansion was visible in a recent update to the SafeBoda app, which includes an M-PESA integration. MPESA is a Safaricom product and widely used across Kenya.
Also Read: Who’ll eventually win Uganda’s ridesharing market?
SafeBoda will join Taxify, which has already set a firm stride on the Nairobi-Kenyan soils.
Arguably the market is increasingly demanding for a safe, organized and reliable boda-boda industry. We are yet to know whether they will maintain their signature orange, with Taxify having changed from Green to Yellow for Nairobi.
Progression has been the case at Uganda’s pioneer boda-hailing company since the start of the year.
The company unveiled it’s new offices and logo to the public in March. In April this year, SafeBoda's co-founder, Ricky Rapa Thompson, also featured in Forbes 7th annual ranking of the 30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs In Africa.
Recently, a partnership with MTN Uganda was struck to allow riders to use the app with zero data. Though it has been an on and off service for many. Recently, it also experienced a backlash from its users as its services were not able to reach some of its users.
I call @SafeBoda customer care, the ladies are helpful, I ask why is it that I try to request for a rider and I fail for over 20 mins but someone just taps in 2 mins they have one, she politely says its luck keep trying. In this day of Big data? we still leave things to luck?
— Kakande Alex Kayiza (@KakandeAlex) July 30, 2018
The company is also running a 'Yo City Ride' campaign, a year-long series of events aimed at shining a light on all that is great about Kampala.