Tech in Africa
Uber Egypt has recovered by 80% according to Ahmed Khalil, the General Manager. He made the announcement at the RiseUp Summit 2020 where he gave an indication of the company’s expectations of a full recovery in 2021. When Covid-19 hit, the company shut down the food delivery business Uber Eats across several markets as a measure of cutting down on costs and mitigating further loss. The ride-hailing arm of the company was eventually affected by the lockdown.
In the past, the company has built solid partnerships across various industries aimed at scaling and diversifying operations. In line with the need to innovate or die in 2020, Uber Egypt has introduced new services to revive lost business and compensate for the losses they have experienced in the ride-hailing space. Among the products are inter-city bus services, and Uber Connect – a delivery tech solutions focussed on the transportation of goods.
Khalil gave his assessment of the Covid-19 situation by arguing for businesses to act fast in long-term strategies, maintain positive P&L, and utilize their partnerships. The virtual edition of the Rise Up Summit took place over the weekend in a special edition themed “Reset”.
Earlier this year in May, Uber Egypt laid off 40% of its Cairo office in what was the largest layoff across the Middle East. This was part of a larger global strategy that saw the company lay off 3,700 employees gout of it’s 27,000 back then.
The RiseUpSummit is one of the MENA region’s largest annual gathering of startups and is annually held in Downtown Cairo, Egypt.
