Safeboda, a ride hailing app, has announced plans to temporarily halt operations in Kenya from Friday, November 27.
In a statement, the company attributed the ‘pause’ to the harsh economic environment caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected the ride and delivery services.
“While Nairobi is seeing some economic recovery from Covid-19, boda transportation has been hit hard. This has meant our business cannot sustainably operate in this environment and unfortunately the timeline for a full recovery is not certain. The decision is a hard one for SafeBoda to make. We know that this will negatively impact our community of riders,” the company noted.
Read: SafeBoda Unveils New Lower Pricing for Customers in Nairobi
The company has now advised its customers to spend unused credits on rides and deliveries by November 27, putting doubts on its return to the market.
“Those who are unable to (spend credits by November 27) will have their monies sent to them via mobile money by the end of the day on November 27, regardless of the amount. Those who want refunds before we pause operations can also call our customer care lines and we will help them get the funds,” a representative for SafeBoda told Business Today.
SafeBoda launched operations in Kenya in Nairobi in 2018, and currently has over 4,000 riders.
The company will retain its operations in Uganda and Nigeria.
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