Pastures New

Nairobi is branching out of the city centre and into new industries

- Jenni Reid

It’s rush hour but nobody’s rushing,” chuckles Godfrey, a Nairobi-based Uber driver, as we sit static at a roundabout on a Wednesday morning, only motorbikes managing to wind their way through. On either side of us, the brightly decorated matatu buses each filled with dozens of commuters certainly aren’t going anywhere fast.

Gridlocked roads are a stereotype that still rings true about the Kenyan capital, although Godfrey insists – perhaps a touch optimistically – that in five years’ time the jams will be a thing of the past. He says that the past half-decade has seen a big improvement thanks to new roads and bypasses. Out of 17 years as a driver, he’s spent the last one working for Uber and is full of praise for the company.

It’s standard back-of-the-taxi chat, but as such conversations are prone to do, it reveals a lot about the changes this city of 4.5 million people is in the midst of. For one, there’s the rise of ride-hailing. Ubiquitous mobile phones and fast internet speeds make this a big convenience for many in Nairobi. For foreigners, it negates the need to carry extra cash or haggle prices. Uber has been in the market since 2015, and in 2018 had 2,16,000 active riders and 6,000 drivers split between the capital and the coastal city of Mombasa.

Alon Lits, Uber’s general manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, says the company has found that Kenyan cities are “defined by agility, creativity and adaptability”. It has introduced features such as Uber Chapchap, a lower-priced option served by a fleet of budget vehicles, and Uber Lite, a simpler version of the app designed to work in low-connectivity areas and on any Android model. It’s competing with local players such as Bebabeba, which was launched last year by an association of drivers, and Little, which is backed by Kenyan telecoms giant Safaricom.