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<p>The sharing economy has been a success story in many parts of the world with the likes of Uber and Airbnb among the frontrunners.</p>


How viable is the sharing economy in Rwanda?

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<p>From disrupting the transport market, Uber is now looking to disrupt financial services with the launch of Uber Cash in South Africa. Alon Lits, Director of Uber in Sub-Saharan Africa.</p>


Uber cash launched in SA


<p>Report by Sam Shead</p>



<p><strong>Key Points:</strong></p>



<ul><li>Alibaba’s Jack Ma, China’s richest man, is stepping down from the board of SoftBank on June 25.</li></ul>



<ul><li>SoftBank’s Vision Fund reported losses of $18 billion on Monday, while the SoftBank Group as a whole had losses of $13 billion.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Big bets on companies like Uber, WeWork and Oyo have not paid off for the SoftBank Vision Fund.</li></ul>



<p>Alibaba founder <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/east-africa/2020/03/18/covid-19-billionaire-jack-ma-to-donate-masks-test-kits-to-all-countries-in-africa/">Jack Ma</a> is stepping down from the board of SoftBank after the company’s Vision Fund posted record-breaking losses of $18 billion. </p>



<p>Ma, whose $41.8 billion net worth makes him China’s richest man, is the latest high-profile figure to exit SoftBank Group, which on Monday posted total annual losses of $13 billion for the year ending March 31.&nbsp;Uniqlo founder Tadashi Yanai stepped down from SoftBank’s board in December, while Nidec founder Shigenobu Nagamori stepped down in 2017.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Son said that Ma decided to leave SoftBank’s board “on his own”. He added: “That’s sad, but we still keep in contact directly and right before the <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/">Covid-19</a>, we met face-to-face every month to have dinner, to talk about businesses, to talk about lives. And we will remain friends for the rest of our life, I believe.”</p>



<p>Ma has become increasingly focused on education philanthropy over the last year. He stepped down as Alibaba’s chairman last September and there’s speculation that he’ll quit Alibaba’s board later this year.</p>



<p>Ma’s departure (effective June 25) comes after SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son pivoted away from telecoms to backing new companies through the colossal $100 billion Vision Fund, which was launched in 2017.</p>



<p>In total, the Vision Fund has backed 88 start-ups with a total of $75 billion. The Vision Fund, which counts Apple and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund among its contributors, is in poor health because a number of its biggest bets have turned out to be disasters.&nbsp;</p>



<p>An enormous $9 billion bet on WeWork turned out to be a very bad move after the office space provider imploded, spectacularly, months before the coronavirus wreaked havoc with global economies. With dozens of multi-story offices empty around the world, WeWork’s situation is only expected to go from bad to worse.</p>



<p>The Vision Fund has also pumped billions of dollars into companies like taxi app Uber and Indian hotel chain Oyo, which have seen their valuations plummet over the last few months as a result of the coronavirus and confinement measures, among other factors.</p>



<p>“Values of Uber, WeWork and its three affiliates decreased, and total fair value of other portfolio companies decreased significantly,” SoftBank wrote in its financial report.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Old friends&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Ma and Son, two of Asia’s best-known tech tycoons, are close friends and their relationship goes back at least 20 years as Son was one of Alibaba’s earliest investors.</p>



<p>In 2000, one year after Alibaba was founded, SoftBank invested a reported $20 million into the company. An SEC filing from February showed that SoftBank owns around 25% of Alibaba, a stake worth more than $100 billion, making it SoftBank Group’s most valuable investment. </p>



<p>SoftBank stock hit a four-year low on March 19, prompting the group to announce plans to sell or monetize $41 billion of its assets and buy back $4.7 billion of its shares.</p>



<p>This article was first published on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/18/alibabas-jack-ma-quits-softbank.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/18/alibabas-jack-ma-quits-softbank.html</a> and is republished with its permission.</p>



<p>For more coverage on COVID-19 visit: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/">https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/</a></p>


Op-Ed: Supporting the ICT sector in Africa as a cure for the economic crisis

Billionaire Jack Ma quits SoftBank’s board as its Vision Fund posts a record $18 billion loss

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<p>Uber’s rival Bolt, formerly known as Taxify, is set to take Africans to their destinations one ride at a time by adapting to the needs of African citizens.</p>


This ride-hailing firm plans to conquer Africa

This ride-hailing firm plans to conquer Africa, one ride at a time

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<p>Depending on whom you ask, Uber has disrupted transport systems in Africa but the US-headquartered company insists it’s part of the solution everywhere it operates including the continent. Head of Public Policy at Uber West Africa, Tola Odeyemi joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Uber’s Odeyemi: We’ve been proactive with regulations to allow innovation


<p>LAGOS (Reuters) &#8211; Global ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc on Friday launched a pilot test of a boat service in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos to attract commuters seeking to avoid the megacity’s notoriously congested roads.</p>



<p>The United Nations predicts that Nigeria’s population will more than double to 400 million by 2050, which would make it the third most populous country in the world after China and India.</p>



<p>The combination of population growth and congestion has made Nigeria, and more broadly West Africa, attractive to foreign transport companies.</p>



<p>Uber’s chief business officer told Reuters in June the company planned to launch the service to carry travellers in the Lagos megacity of around 20 million people that is built on a lagoon.</p>



<p>The waterway service, UberBOAT, is operated in partnership with local boat operator Texas Connection Ferries and the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), said the ride-hailing firm.</p>



<p>“This initiative is aimed at providing commuters with an easy and affordable way to get in and out of the city’s business districts,” Uber said in a statement.</p>



<p>The pilot phase will operate on weekdays from 0700 GMT to 1600 GMT on a fixed route between two locations in the city.</p>



<p>Passengers will be charged a flat fare of 500 naira ($1.39) per trip, compared with about 300 naira by minibus for a similar journey in the commercial hub of the West African country where most people live on less than $2 a day.</p>



<p>At a press conference on Friday, Uber officials said there would be four trips a day, carrying up to 35 people on a boat, during the two-week pilot.</p>



<p>Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos state, said the Uber boat service, and the use of waterways in general, were part of a raft of initiatives aimed at easing congestion that include a programme of road repairs.</p>



<p>“We want ferries that carry 60 to 80 people,” he said, referring to his hopes for the future use of waterways, on Thursday at a forum with businesses.</p>



<p>Uber’s boat initiative follows a number of motorcycle ride-hailing firms that have targeted West Africa as an area for expansion in the last few months.</p>



<p>Technology giant Google also launched a new feature in July that allows Nigerians to hear travel advice in a local voice on Google Maps. Another feature allows users in Lagos to seek directions from “informal transit” services, such as private minibuses.</p>



<p>Reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram and Nneka Chile; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise</p>


Uber launches boat service in Nigeria’s megacity Lagos, what you need to know

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<p>Reverting back to Kobo360 during the
Africa CEO Forum back in May, Co-founder and winner of the event&#8217;s &#8216;Disrupter
of the Year&#8217; award, Ife Oyedele spoke to CNBC Africa. During that discussion
when asked where next, he mentioned Kenya was in his sights, and now, only 5
months later, the company has officially launched in the East African country.
Africa Region CEO, Kagure Wamunyu joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


The Uber of freight services, Kobo360 launches in East Africa


<p>LAGOS (Reuters) &#8211; Global ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc is in talks with regulators over plans to expand into two West African countries and provide a boat service in Nigerian megacity Lagos, a company executive said on Thursday.</p>



<p>In much of sub-Saharan Africa there are low levels of personal car ownership, rapidly expanding populations and a lack of efficient mass transport systems in fast-growing cities.</p>



<p>Uber, which 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.</p>



<p>The firm has identified the region as a target for potential expansion, Chief Business Officer Brooks Entwistle told Reuters. He said the company was in talks with regulators in Ivory Coast and Senegal regarding the possible launch of services.</p>



<p>“Both Abidjan and Dakar are logical opportunities for us,” said Entwistle, adding that discussions were at an early stage. He did not disclose further details.</p>



<p>“We have talked about West Africa today as being a big growth priority for us and launch priority for us moving forward,” said Entwistle.</p>



<p>Ivory Coast and Senegal have two of the world’s fastest growing economies, according to the International Monetary Fund. Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is also the continent’s most populous nation.</p>



<p>A number of motorcycle ride-hailing firms have also targeted West Africa as an area for expansion in the last few months.</p>



<p>Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos, a megacity of around 20 million inhabitants built on a lagoon where Uber began operating in July 2014, is beset by heavy congestion.</p>



<p>Entwistle, who spoke to Reuters during an interview in Lagos, said the company was in talks with state regulators about providing a transport system on the city’s waterways as a way of bypassing its choked roads.</p>



<p>“We are looking at the waterways here, which are very interesting to us as it relates to a potential service,” said Entwistle.</p>



<p>The company has launched a boat service in the Indian city of Mumbai in the last few months.</p>



<p>“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,” he said, referring to Lagos.</p>



<p>The Uber executive, who described Lagos as “one of the great growth opportunity cities in the world”, said the company has also held discussions with a bus firm and regulators in the city.</p>



<p>He said the talks were in line with a global push by the company to develop products that can work alongside public transit systems.</p>



<p>Entwistle said the combination of population growth and congestion made Lagos, and other cities in the region, attractive.</p>



<p>The United Nations predicts that Nigeria’s population will more than double to 400 million by 2050, which would make it the third most populous country in the world after China and India.</p>



<p>Uber faces stiff competition in African cities from Estonian ride-hailing firm Bolt, which until early 2019 was called Taxify. Bolt has grabbed business largely by taking a smaller cut from drivers using its app.</p>



<p>Reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Jan Harvey</p>


Uber aiming for expansion in fast-growing West African markets

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<p>The ride hailing behemoth Uber announced its target share price yesterday. The technology company is set to start trading at $45 per share, the lower range of its target. The company is said to be doing this, in an effort to stave off the trading plunge suffered by rival Lyft Inc. when it listed. Despite a valuation of $82 billion, Uber has not made any profit. CNBC Africa is joined by Jeremy Sampson, Managing Director, Brand Finance Africa.</p>


Uber accelerates to $82bn valuation

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<p>Nigerian logistics platform, Kobo360, has been compared to Uber. The tech start up already works with business giants like Dangote and Unilever just to name a few, is now setting their sights on expanding into Kenya and Ghana; for more CNBC Africa spoke to Ife Oyedele, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Kobo360.</p>


Kobo 360 plans to expand into Kenya and Ghana

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<p>The ride hailing app Uber is revving up for African market expansion and gearing up for its latest technological features to be introduced in South Africa. Uber continues revolutionising itself amid the country&#8217;s tough economic times and much contestation from competition in South Africa. Uber&#8217;s General Manager of Uber Sub-Saharan Africa, Alon Lits joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Africans who want a slice of Uber can soon invest, this how it’s doing on the continent

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<p>Sachin Kansal, Global Head of Safety Product for Uber joins CNBC Africa to talk about its new safety features for both rider and drivers.</p>


Uber beefs up its security measures for customers and drivers

<p><div id="attachment_318536" style="width: 810px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-318536" class="wp-image-318536 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/800px-Silicon_Valley_facing_southward_towards_Downtown_San_Jose_20141.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="580" /><p id="caption-attachment-318536" class="wp-caption-text">Picture by Coolcaesar &#8211; Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 &#8211; Wikimedia Commons</p></div></p>
<p><em>Does anyone know if Silicon Valley costs us more than it gains us?</em></p>
<p>By Nnamdi Oranye</p>
<p>Does having Silicon Valley-based companies, like Uber or Amazon or Google, functioning and conducting business in our country cost us? Does anyone know? Or are we just guessing and assuming that the jobs created satisfactorily offset whatever it might cost?</p>
<p>Think about it. When you use an Uber your credit card is deducted instantly after your ride, and that money goes straight to the bank account of a Silicon Valley company far, far away from our borders. The driver gets paid out his percentage, fair enough, and that money goes into their account (I wonder how many charges the banks put on that process) but the bulk of it remains in Silicon Valley, does it not?</p>
<p>Or what happens when you buy an app from Google for your phone? Or from Apple? Or you buy a book on Amazon? How much of that money enriches our economies? Or is all this ultimately making us a mere conduit to enrich Silicon Valley?</p>
<h4>Has anyone done a proper cost analysis?</h4>
<p>I don’t think anyone really has done a proper and thoughtful cost analysis &#8211; at least not over the long term. I’m sure our governments are certainly thinking about these things, but I also get the general sense that we’re not having the right conversations with the right people at the right time. We’re certainly, as the public, not getting a sense of how this is all working.</p>
<p>How much money is actually leaving our African countries through these innovations &#8211; and through the continent as a whole &#8211; and ending up in Uber’s and Amazon’s and Facebook’s bank accounts, never to make its way back here? And can we compare that against the jobs created and the families empowered and come to the conclusion that it’s a good thing?</p>
<p>I’m not saying it isn’t a good thing. I’ve used Uber many times, and the discussions I’ve had with practically every Uber driver has been a positive one. They were retrenched but can now be their own boss. They are earning well and can work their own hours. Some never had work at all until now.</p>
<p>While I know there are many arguments around how drivers feel manipulated or used by Uber, and of course there are the dangers of violence, there are an equal amount of stories saying it’s been a good thing for them. Innovations that disrupt will always come with a mass of differing opinions, and it’s only over time that the truth will emerge. Uber, by way of an example, is in big trouble right now, and it’s “move fast and break things” attitude reflecting Silicon Valley is one that we all need to deal with.</p>
<h4>Excited to see African-based competition in the market</h4>
<p>So I’m neither for nor against Uber itself, although I think as an innovation it has done brilliantly and I am excited to see the African-based competition that is rising in that market. The taxi industry has needed a disruptor to get it to also deal with its own issues &#8211; some of which are still not being dealt with.</p>
<p>Perhaps it’s easier to see how the likes of Uber creates jobs. But what about Facebook? What about Google? How are they creating work for the previously unemployed?</p>
<p>We need to have this conversation about whether it costs us to have Silicon Valley functioning on our continent here, or whether it benefits us. And this conversation must be a Pan-African one. The question is whether the number of jobs being created on the continent; the amount of revenue being invested; and what profitability looks like for them and for us, is mutually beneficial.</p>
<p>We would need to look at the long-term and the long tail. An Uber driver might now have work that he might not have had before, which makes him now able to put his kids through school and educate them and build a life for his family. That’s all a good thing.</p>
<h4>Weigh that against the revenue leaving the continent</h4>
<p>And is that long-term change something that makes us be happy with the amount of revenue leaving our continent? Or could we have done that in other ways? And is this all sustainable in the long term? Decisions for people here are being made by a bunch of executives in California. Is that a good idea or not? Is Uber simply using our tax money and our roads to run its business practically cost-free? At what point are they contributing in other ways?</p>
<p>Of course, one might accuse me of siding with the likes of Multichoice or Vodacom and MTN, who have both publicly complained about how these overseas innovations are taking advantage of their infrastructure but not paying a cent for it. Multichoice feels misled by the like of Netflix (but surely they saw it coming?) and MTN and Vodacom feel that Whatsapp is getting a free ride.</p>
<p>There is some sense in their arguments, but not complete sense. They have actually each had a long time to see these days coming and they could have developed their own products long before Silicon Valley came here. That’s for another discussion. But all I’m saying here is that we need to have a good, long, even public discussion with Silicon Valley about this &#8211; much like America is having with the big boys now.</p>
<h4>Silicon Valley companies think Pan-African</h4>
<p>It’s not good enough to just have a per-country strategy, because clearly, Silicon Valley companies don’t see it that way. They think Pan-African, and so should we. And the conversation needs to include central banks and regulatory bodies, politicians and even our own innovators. Because, ultimately, I still believe that Africans need to have space and support to create African innovations for Africa’s people. They need to be involved in how innovations are implemented or localised on our continent. They need to benefit as well and be a part of the process.</p>
<p>If Silicon Valley is good for us, then great; but if it isn’t… well, we better know that now before it’s too late. Because this can just be another colonialism in disguise if we’re not careful.</p>


Op-Ed: Who is Monitoring the Economic Impact of Silicon Valley in Africa?

<p>NAIROBI, Aug 9 (Reuters) &#8211; Taxify, an Estonian ride-hailing company aiming to take on Uber in emerging markets, will invest millions of euros in East Africa in the next five years with a strategy focused on motorised rickshaws and motorcycles, it said on Thursday.</p>
<p>The company, which already operates in five cities in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and will continue to offer regular car rides, said it saw the best opportunity for growth via taxi services in locally popular forms of motorised transport.</p>
<p>In East Africa, that means “boda bodas” and “bajajis”, also called “tuk tuks”, &#8211; local terms for motorcycles and rickshaws, respectively.</p>
<p>“Our focus is on providing the most appropriate means of transport for the customers and in East Africa we can see that boda bodas are getting the highest value for us,” Karl Aru, Taxify’s Expansion Manager for Africa, said in an interview.</p>
<p>Taxify has picked off business from Uber in central and eastern Europe and major African cities. It raised $175 million in May in a funding round that included German automaker Daimler and brought its valuation to $1 billion.</p>
<p>The company says it has hundreds of thousands of drivers in sub-Saharan Africa, with roughly a third in East Africa. It also operates in Nigeria and South Africa, and has a total of five million active users on the continent as a whole. Close to half of Taxify’s business is in Africa, the company said.</p>
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<div id="dpslot_canvas_9454385_AFL5N1V03K9" class="DPSlot_ad-container" data-google-query-id="CInk0fmv4twCFYuJ7Qodk8oDzg">It recently expanded to Mwanza, a northern city in Tanzania, a country of 55 million people.</div>
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<p>Aru said the company was exploring other markets in the region. “We are looking into Ethiopia, and a number of other countries also in East Africa,” he said in a phone interview from Tallinn, Estonia, where Taxify is headquartered.</p>
<p>He did not give a timeline, but said the immediate focus was on expanding in markets where Taxify already operates.</p>
<p>Challenges the company faces in East Africa include low smartphone penetration, internet connectivity and safety, he said, adding Taxify’s safety features included a “share your ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival)” function.</p>
<p>In Kenya, East Africa’s richest economy per capita, Taxify also competes against Little, which has a partnership with telecoms operator Safaricom, and the Nairobi-based Mondo Ride.</p>
<p>Taxify differentiates itself from rivals by offering locally popular modes of transport, and also working to take less commission from drivers, Aru said.</p>
<p>“Of course, we have several different products, we have the regular cars, sedans, we have a comfort service or like a premium service and we also have an affordable option, called ‘GO’ which is small vehicles for deliveries and daily pick-ups.”</p>
<div></div>
<p>Aru said Taxify on average took a commission of about 15 percent from drivers, which he said compared with 25-30 percent at competitors. (Reporting by Omar Mohammed; Editing by Maggie Fick and Mark Potter)</p>


How Taxify plans to take on Uber in East Africa

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<p>Kenyan taxi-hailing company ‘Little’ has raised about 3 million dollars through the sale of 10 per cent stake to an Indian investor. Little is Uber’s main competitor in Kenya and plans to raise another 100 million dollars from Silicon Valley to fund expansion into other African markets, with Rwanda launch set for this month. Kamal Budhabhatti, CEO of software company Craft Silicon which owns Little joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Kenyan taxi-hailing firm ‘Little’ set to launch in Rwanda

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<p>Uber technologies have launched their second business in Kenya Uber Eat that&#8217;s expected to revolutionize food delivery in Nairobi. Joining CNBC Africa for more into this matter is Uber Eats Kenya General Manager, Amal Devani.</p>


Uber Eats launches in Kenya

<p data-para-word-count="61"><em>This <a href="http://kenyanwallstreet.com/safaricom-backed-taxi-app-little-seeks-sh-10b-funding-regional-expansion">article</a> first appeared on <a href="http://kenyanwallstreet.com/">Kenyan Wall Street</a> and is republished with its permission </em></p>
<p data-para-word-count="61">(<a href="http://kenyanwallstreet.com/">Kenyan Wall Street</a>) Safaricom backed online taxi hailing firm Little is seeking to raise Sh 10 billion ($100M) in funding to fuel its expansion plans across the continent and compete against Uber and other up-and-comers that are each trying to grab a piece of the growing online taxi market.</p>
<div class="mh-content-ad">Kamal Budhabatti, CEO of Craft Silicon, (the parent company of Little) is expected to make several trips to Silicon Valley this quarter to scout for investors to participate in the series B round of funding.</div>
<div></div>
<div><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://cnbc.africa/news/2018/01/03/kenya-regulator-ditches-plan-break-safaricom-business-daily/">Kenya regulator ditches plan to break up Safaricom</a></div>
<p data-para-word-count="61">“We want to see if we can get someone from the (Silicon) valley who can come help to scale up the company.” Mr Budhabhatti told Reuters last year.</p>
<p data-para-word-count="61">So far, Craft Silicon has invested close to Sh 1 Billion ($10M) in the venture with $6 million (Sh600 million) coming from its own pockets while the rest ($4M) from a small group of CEOs who run some of Kenya’s largest companies.</p>
<p data-para-word-count="61">“Our aim is to become the taxi-hailing firm for the continent. We are competing with some of the bigger players. If you want to win you can’t beat them on capital, you can only beat them on innovations.” he said.</p>
<p data-para-word-count="61">Little already <a href="http://kenyanwallstreet.com/safaricom-backed-taxi-hailing-app-little-launching-nigeria" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commenced its operations in Nigeria’s capital city of Lagos</a> last October and is expected to do the same in Ghana in the first quarter of this year. Kamal Budhabatti says they are looking at a number of countries in Southern and Francophone Africa with a target of being in 10 countries by June this year.</p>
<p data-para-word-count="61">Kamal says they also seek to develop financial services offering building on soaring driver and user numbers of the cab hailing platform. The 18 month old start-up aims to transform into a fintech firm with offerings such as loans, electronic money transfer in what it calls “a small bank that sits inside the Little wallet.”</p>
<p data-para-word-count="61">In February this year, Little is also expected to launch a mobile phone-based Savings and Credit Co-operative Society (Sacco) for its drivers dubbed Little Sacco, the country’s first virtual Sacco.</p>
<p data-para-word-count="61">Little claims it facilitates as many as 12,000 rides each day, making it the third largest ride-hailing platform in Kenya with approximately 5,000 drivers. Since its launch in July 2016, Little says it has close to 400,000 active riders.</p>
<p data-para-word-count="61"><em>This <a href="http://kenyanwallstreet.com/safaricom-backed-taxi-app-little-seeks-sh-10b-funding-regional-expansion">article</a> first appeared on <a href="http://kenyanwallstreet.com/">Kenyan Wall Street</a> and is republished with its permission </em></p>


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