US online tech firm now courts Kenyan companies for growth

Uber, the American taxi hailing tech firm, is targeting Kenyan companies to boost uptake of its services three months after officially launching operations in Nairobi.

The new service dubbed Uber 4 Business (U4B) is designed to help companies organise transportation of their employees conveniently and manage taxi expenses.

The Uber service is set to rival corporate cab services offered locally by taxi companies like Pewin, Princess, Wote and Jatco.

“The new product allows a centralised billing for all employees and provides an explanation on locations covered and expense incurred by specific employees,” read a statement sent by Samantha Allenberg, Uber Africa Communications Associate.

To use the service, companies are required to create an Uber corporate account and add employee names, a function that will help the management to track details of the employees using U4B taxi.

A company will be billed through credit cards, direct electronic billing or through other cashless payment options.

Employees of companies will only access the U4B service according to the policy controls set by the company.

The pre-set company policy specifies pick up locations, days and hours during which employees can ask for a taxi. Employees will not access taxi services if they disregard the pre-set policy.

READ: Uber sets Sh500 as minimum fare for Nairobi cab service

Ms Allenberger said that date, time, and location settings let businesses decide when and where employees can ride, helping them deal with excessive travel.

“Uber automatically applies their (companies) custom ride policy to every trip for guaranteed compliance, withdrawing tedious taxi approval processes, employee refund and unaccounted travel expenses.”

The launch of the product follows the slow take-off of Uber’s initial service, which has come under stiff competition due to relatively low taxi charges by local operators.

For instance, during its Nairobi launch, the San-Francisco based company set Sh500 as the minimum charge for the shortest distance covered.

Most local taxi cabs charge slightly more than half the amount to cover similar distances. The sluggish uptake of the service in Kenya is in contrast to the fast growth of the app in other parts of the world including Europe and the US.

A survey released early April by Certify, an American expense software management company, revealed Uber’s growing popularity among business travellers.

“Hundreds of new companies are joining the Uber for Business platform every week, and it is paying off,” said the survey report.