Issues in Uber’s ‘Exit’ From Nigeria

By Oluwakorede Adeniyi

When news broke early in September that Uber was leaving Nigeria after twelve years, I remembered something I had read a few weeks earlier. In July, Uber announced plans to acquire Delivery Hero, the company that owns Glovo, in a deal valuing the business at about $14.8 billion. Now, Glovo operates in Nigeria. I therefore found it a bit strange that Uber was leaving the business of transporting people in Nigeria while trying to buy a company that delivers food to those same people. I am aware that the acquisition is a global deal and not necessarily about Nigeria, but the timing still caught my attention. Then, a few weeks later, Moove announced it was leaving Nigeria too. Now, that was a big deal.

Moove is a Nigerian-founded company that helps drivers get access to cars they otherwise might not be able to afford. Uber actually led a $100 million investment round in the company in 2024. What surprised me was that Moove said it would transfer vehicles reportedly worth N35 billion to eligible customers without requiring further payments. So, within a short period, two companies connected to Nigeria’s ride-hailing industry were leaving our country, while Uber was also looking to expand its delivery business globally.

Until the end of April this year, I was a software engineer at the Uber headquarters in San Francisco, so I have a little understanding about how these things work from a technology perspective. When people think about Uber, they probably think about how easy it is to open an app, request a ride, and have a driver show up. But there is a lot more happening behind the scenes, especially when it comes to making the business work financially. Something that works well in one country might be much harder to run in another. One example is cash payments. Say you take an Uber that costs N10,000 and pay the driver in cash. If Uber’s commission is 20 per cent, the company is supposed to receive N2,000 from that trip. But the driver has collected all N10,000, so Uber has to recover its share later. With a card payment, that deduction is much easier to handle. Uber even has Nigerian driver-support documentation explaining how drivers can settle outstanding fees from cash trips. Now imagine having to manage that across thousands of drivers.

I am not saying that drivers refusing to pay Uber was the reason the company left Nigeria, because we don’t know that. But it shows how even something as simple as getting paid can become complicated. And it’s not like the drivers are making a fortune either. I spent the entire summer in Nigeria and I engaged with many of the cab drivers. Since the removal of fuel subsidy in 2023, petrol has become much more expensive in the country. Yet, drivers still have to maintain their cars, pay for repairs, and sometimes make payments on vehicles they are financing. At the same time, passengers are also dealing with rising prices and don’t want to spend too much on transport. So,you have drivers trying to earn enough, passengers trying to save money, and Uber trying to make its commission. Everyone wants the numbers to work, but they don’t always add up. You can build a better app, but you can’t use technology to make fuel cheaper.

The Delivery Hero deal makes this even more interesting. Uber’s ride-hailing business has generally been more profitable than Uber Eats globally. So, it isn’t as simple as saying delivery makes more money than rides. Uber clearly still believes in ride-hailing. But maybe the bigger issue is figuring out which services make sense in which countries. Food delivery has other ways of earning money, including restaurant commissions and advertising, although it comes with its own problems.

If the deal goes through, Uber could still have a business connected to Nigeria through Glovo, even after leaving ride-hailing in the country. That’s a strange position to be in. The decision by Moove is also worth thinking about. The company started in Lagos in 2020 because there was a real problem to solve. Many people want to drive for a living but can’t afford to buy a car upfront. Moove found a way to finance those vehicles, attract investors, and expand internationally. By 2026, the company was reportedly valued at $2.1 billion. Yet it has now decided to leave Nigeria while continuing to operate in other countries.

I also don’t know the full reasons behind that decision. But it does make me wonder how a company can start by solving a Nigerian problem, become successful internationally, and then decide it no longer wants to operate in Nigeria. That is strange. Very strange!

I think one thing we get carried away with in Nigeria is our population. We always talk about having over 200 million people and how that makes us such an attractive market. And it does, to an extent. However, having millions of potential customers doesn’t automatically mean those customers can afford your service. If someone needs a ride but can’t afford the fare, that demand doesn’t really help the driver or the company. The same applies to food delivery, online shopping, and a lot of other businesses. There is a difference between having a lot of people who need something and having a market where a company can actually make money providing it.

Meanwhile, something else that gets lost in these conversations is what happens to the drivers. When companies leave, we talk about investment, market conditions, and business decisions. But for drivers, it’s their actual livelihood. Some have cars they’re still paying for, and many depend on driving to support their families. The decision by Moove to transfer vehicles to eligible customers is significant, but not everyone who depends on these platforms will be in the same position. A company can decide to leave a country, but the people who built their lives around that company still have to figure out what comes next.

I am not saying that Uber and Moove leaving proves Nigeria is a terrible place to do business. Companies leave countries for all sorts of reasons, and we don’t know exactly what went into these decisions. But I do think we should ask more questions. We celebrate whenever a startup raises millions of dollars or an international company announces it is entering Nigeria. We see it as a sign that our economy is growing. But maybe we should spend just as much time asking why some of these companies eventually leave.

What I keep coming back to is this: we always say Nigeria’s biggest advantage is its population. But is having a large population enough? If companies can still make money from Nigerians without really operating in Nigeria, what happens to the jobs and opportunities we expect them to create? And if companies that started in our country are finding better opportunities elsewhere, what does that mean for young Nigerians who want to build the next big thing?

Maybe the conversation shouldn’t just be about why Uber left. It should be about what would make the next Uber want to stay.

• Adeniyi, an ex-Uber Engineer is currently a Claude Corps Fellow In Santa Clara, United States and can be reached at oadeniyi2024@gmail.com