Egypt’s capital Cairo has this year surpassed South Africa’s business hub Johannesburg as being internet ride-sharing service Uber’s biggest and busiest African city.
This is according to Uber’s head of operations for Europe, Middle East and Africa – Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty – who spoke to Fin24 on a visit to Johannesburg this week.
Gore-Coty told Fin24 that Cairo has overtaken Johannesburg in the last few months amid Uber’s explosive growth in Egypt.
South Africa’s biggest city Johannesburg – which is home to over 4 million people according to Statistics South Africa data – was first to get the Uber service in Africa in 2013.
Johannesburg remains a key hub for Uber as the South African city ranks among Uber’s top five out of 115 cities in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, according to data given to Fin24 by Uber.
Meanwhile, Uber launched in Cairo in November 2014. After Lagos, Cairo is regarded as Africa’s second most populous city with more than 19 million inhabitants in its greater metropolitan area, according to World Bank data.
Demand for Uber in Cairo, subsequently, has surged. Cairo now has over 30 000 driver partners, according to recent statements from the company. Across Africa there are over 60 000 driver-partners, according to Uber.