Uber Technologies Inc are planning to launch a boat service in Lagos, Nigeria.
The popular global ride-hailing firm said it has 36,000 active drivers in sub-Saharan Africa, operates in a number of countries in East and South Africa but is largely absent from West Africa, aside from Nigeria and Ghana.
Brooks Entwistle, Uber’s Chief Business Officer, told Reuters during an interview in Lagos that the company was in talks with regulators in Ivory Coast and Senegal regarding the possible launch of services.
He said the company was in talks with the Lagos state government about providing a transport system on the city’s waterways as a way of bypassing its choked roads.
He said: “We are looking at the waterways here, which are very interesting to us as it relates to a potential service.
“We did launch Uber Boat in Mumbai and we have watched the product develop. It’s in its early stages and we think there is high relevance here,” referring to Lagos.
Entwistle said the combination of population growth and congestion made Lagos, and other cities in the region, attractive.
