Kenyan digital ride-hailing app, Little Cab is spreading its wings to Ethiopia. The company announced that it has finalized plans to venture into one of Africa’s largest markets. The country holds huge market potential with a massive population of over 112 million. This will be the fifth country the digital app ventures into after Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and Tanzania.
“Ethiopia has always been on our sight. However we have always been very cautious to get in there because of the nature of business,” said Mr. Kamal Budhabhatti, Little Chief Executive Officer.
“When we saw Safaricom heading to Ethiopia, we got the courage to get there. It is a large market and we see an opportunity to extend our services there,” he added.
Little Cab is looking to launch Ride-hailing services starting in Addis Ababa where it has inked deals with corporate companies to procure the services. The company’s strategy includes venturing into food delivery and financial services by the end of 2022.
Read: Ride Hailing App Little Cab Expands Services To Eldoret And Nyeri
Little Cab had already planned to join the Ethiopian market before the pandemic slowed down operations. Nevertheless, the plans have well become a reality, and Little Cab is now looking to signing up 2,000 drivers to start operations. This is expected to rise to about 10,000 within three months.
Little Cab has injected about Sh500 million towards the project for the next five years, with plans to add another Sh500 million which will be channeled towards the growth of the business.
Mr. Budhabhatti expressed optimism for the company in the new market.
“We have some great Ethiopian partners. We felt that it is a very large market, and for us to succeed there, we need to work closely with Ethiopian companies who would bring a wealth of local and cultural knowledge. We have always understood the power of localization of our products.”
“Having local Ethiopian partners would help us to ensure that the product is customized to meet the local needs of Ethiopians.”
Little Cab has grown its corporate client base in Kenya, commanding the larger share with about 100,000 drivers signed up on the platform.
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