Heritage

CEO’s passion that drives Uber

Loic

Uber East Africa general manager Loïc Amado during the interview. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA | NMG

Loic Amado is a disrupter; he hitchhikes across seven African countries, he gives away his clothes because he does not hang onto things, he kite surfs at sea, plays football, he speaks English, Mandarin, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and, now, jelly-legged Kiswahili.

He serves in the Swiss army, breaks his leg, leaves the army and finds time to finish his Masters in Finance from the University of Hong Kong, works for Nova Founders, a venture capital firm, quits and launches a travel startup in Kuala Lumpur in his early 20s.

A little birdie tells him Uber is hiring and so he throws his hat in that ring and after 10 rounds of interviews he is hired and off he goes to open offices in Germany, Greece, Croatia and Pakistan.

The Uber echelons at the head of the table are impressed so they send him off again and, with all his worldly possessions that fit in a hand-luggage, he comes to beautiful Africa and opens offices in Egypt, Morocco, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. A few months ago they make him the General Manager of East Africa. He is only 28- years- old.

Loic finds time to meet JACKSON BIKO for coffee, wearing silicon-valley’s official archetypal regalia; t-shirt and jeans.

He is young, bright and comes wearing passion on his sleeves and a very beautiful watch on his wrist.

------------------

Loic is quite a name…

It’s a French name. Amado is a Portuguese name. I’m half Swiss, half Belgian. I was born in Belgium, lived in Switzerland for a couple of years, then in Germany, and then Belgium for most of my life. But my dad was in the hotel business so we travelled a lot during all those times.

Uber is now in nine African countries, which country would you say has embraced Uber the most?

Kenya!

You are not just saying that to flatter Kenyans, are you?

(Laughs loudly) No, it’s a fact! There’s something about Kenyans; you guys are very open to new technology and to trying out new things. Every time we have done a campaign here — Uberchopper, Uberchoma — it goes viral, we trend on Twitter, there’s chatter everywhere. Nairobi has been a fast growing city of all sub-Saharan African countries. We have over 5,000 Uber drivers in the country and it keeps growing.

Tell me something about Uber that I don’t know…

Did you know you could share your ETA? You can also share the link of your trip with friends and family and they can see exactly where you’re going with the driver — on a little map. Helps with monitoring the journey of a loved ones-  like children. There’s  also split fare: you can split between three people in the car. We have also added new features like games that last exactly the duration of your trip.

When did you last disappoint yourself?

That’s a good one. (Pause) I think as an entrepreneur you disappoint yourself every single day of the week, right? (Chuckles) There’s almost no day that you don’t fail, or make a decision you shouldn’t have.  But that’s what I believe distinguishes entrepreneurs from others; you take a risk, you take a leap of faith, because you’ll never have all the information needed to make decisions. And it’s something that I have seen over the past three years when launching new markets from scratch; not knowing anybody, just going in, trying to get a feel of local culture and environment. Thing with mistakes is that you try and not make them twice. And you learn.

Early this year you - Uber - was in a bit of a pickle, a crisis more like it, with the drivers’ strikes. How was that for you as the new kid on the block taking in heat?

I have definitely had some challenges in 2017. (Chuckle) I think that was one of the challenges we faced here, but the actions that we took have been quite beneficial on re-looking at the drivers’ economies, and we keep monitoring that on a daily basis. Drivers are extremely happy at the moment. Uber can only succeed when drivers have succeeded.

What did you learn about yourself as a leader during that crisis?

That you need to stay optimistic. That you need to gather your team and remind them of the kind of impact they are making and making sure that passion gets across. Optimistic leadership, that’s what I call it.

You are 28-years old, does your age sometimes become a question?

It’s never been. I’ve been in meetings with people who are twice my age but that has never been a problem because I think that goes back to one of my strengths, which is passion. When you show what kind of impact you’re making and your competence nothing else matters. 

They say there is an external and internal age, do you feel 28- years- old on the inside? Or are you a middle-aged man inside?

(Laughs) That’s a strange one.  I think I feel 28- years- old in the inside.

What has been the most difficult undertaking of your life?

(Pause) This role here at Uber. The last three years have been a roller coaster of getting out of comfort zones every single day, every single second. I’ve learned so much and really grown so much these past years. 

I suppose you’re very busy, you know, handling all these markets. Do you have time for girls? 

{Laughs} Yes, I have a girlfriend here in Nairobi. She’s been here for almost two years now working at the UN. I met her at university actually, around eight years back. Then I was posted here and we connected again and started dating.

That’s a good sign for you. 

Yes. Definitely! She studied in Cape Town and I remember when we were both students we hitchhiked across seven African countries, literally on the road, not knowing where we would sleep next.  

What did you learn about yourself as, say a man, and as a partner during that road trip?

That we need very little in life. Very very little. I have lived off a suitcase for the last three years. A very small suitcase.  I don’t need a lot to survive or be happy.  What I would normally do is buy clothes at the airport and try to leave my clothes with somebody in that city.

Really?

Yeah. But it’s amazing how little you need. I don’t need a car, I don’t need a house necessarily.

Next time you plan to get rid of your Omega I’ll take it.

(Laughs) This is the only thing that I’m extremely excited about. Watches. I only have an Omega. It’s five years old, easily my oldest possession.

If you were to have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would that be?

(Long pause) Steve Jobs.

What would you ask him?

I just loved the way he thought about the world. For example where he said “The ones who think they are crazy enough to change the world are the ones who do.”