UGANDA: Little Ride Taxi To Launch In Kampala

A new online taxi-hailing app Little Ride is set to launch its services in Uganda this month, bringing competition to Uber and Taxify who have been enjoying a duopoly.

Little, developed by technology firm Craft Silicon, says its Uganda expansion plans earlier announced in 2016 had been delayed until this year to enable it firm up its Kenyan operations.

We had a plan to launch in Kampala last year. But we felt that we must strengthen our position in our home ground before we go out, Kamal Budhabhatti, Craft Silicon founder said.

In Kampala, by mid of May, we would be up, he added.

As at October last year, the company had on its app about 5,000 drivers, who would at the time clock in over 13,000 rides during peak periods at the weekends.

The firm is also planning to expand into Nigeria, a populous nation it has set sights on since 2016.

Nigeria, is in plan. But I would also be able to tell you the launch date in a few weeks after we roll out Uganda, said Mr Budhabhatti.

The foray into the two nations is expected to effectively transfer further afield the taxi price wars that Little has sparked locally among its rivals including giant American Uber and Estonian-based Taxify .

Little Ride launched in Kenya in July 2016 sparking off a price war that pitted it against Uber and Dubai-based Mondo Ride which responded to the increased competition by slashing their fares.

Uber, the San Francisco-based taxi e-hailing giant, launched its services in Kampala, Uganda in June, 2016.

Uber rolled out its operations in Lagos, Nigeria in August 2014 while Taxify entered Uganda in 2017 to tap the fast growing demand for city transport services.

Nigeria is where we have our biggest continental operations as Craft Silicon and so we believe we have leverage there.

The same applies for Uganda where we are also based, Budhabhatti had said.


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KENYA: Taxi Battle Expected Between Kenya Based Little Cab And Uber

Little Cab, a taxi-hailing app owned by Nairobi-based technology firms, Craft Silicon, and East Africa’s biggest telecommunication provider, Safaricom, plans to expand its operations to Uganda and Nigeria as it intensifies its market battle against the dominant U.S.-based taxi-haling firm, Uber.

The decision is likely to change the app’s fortunes, whose increase in customers in Kenya has not led to a rise in its earnings, unlike Uber that is already operating in 15 cities across eight African countries.

“We plan to go by the first quarter of next year. Most probably it will either be Nigeria or Uganda. We are thinking of one of the two countries,” Kamal Budhabhati, chief executive of Craft Silicon said.

Nigeria is the most populous nation on the continent and currently has six taxi-hailing companies battling for over 86 million people who have access to the internet.

Uber is the leading taxi-hailing app in the country, and has recorded more than one million trips since it launched in March, last year.

Uber entered the Ugandan market in June, but the market remains largely under-exploited.

Little, launched in July as Little Cabs is considered Uber’s biggest competitor locally, due to its low prices.

The taxi-hailing app is banking on its low prices to grow its customer numbers and improve on its 3,500 trips recorded.

In July, Uber reduced its price per kilometer from $ 0.59 to $0.34, in efforts to maintain its customer numbers after Little Cabs introduced a $0.54 per kilometer fare.

The expansion plan announcement came just days after Little Cab reduced its price per kilometer to $ 0.29, making it the cheapest cab services provider in East Africa’s biggest economy.

The reduction is likely to push Uber into lowering its prices in other African markets as the price battle between the two leading taxi-hailing apps in Kenya intensifies.

Little will also launch motorbike rides in the Kenyan capital and Thika town. It currently offers Lady Bug, a service which is only offered by women operators to female clients.