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UBER ends operations in Tanzania over unfriendly regulations. See implications

Published

3 years ago

April 14, 2022

Ride-hailing company, Uber, has suspended its services in Tanzania as a result of regulations that are not business-friendly which has made its operation in the East African country.

The US-based company, which has operated in the country for six years said operations will resume after arriving at an agreement with the Tanzanian authorities, the company announced in a statement on Thursday.

Uber has become one of the lucrative income sources, as proven by Uber drivers carving their own spot in the gig economy statistics which Africa has benefitted immensely from. It is not yet clear what becomes of the thousands of Uber drivers and riders who rely on the services of the ride-hailing company in Tanzania.

“We have made the difficult decision to suspend our services in Tanzania from Thursday 14 April 2022. The guide fare set by the Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LATRA) has posed significant challenges for systems like Uber to continue to provide services to our customers. It becomes increasingly difficult for us to continue providing services. We will not be able to provide services until the environment becomes friendly for us to continue providing services.” The statement reads.

“Current regulations in the transportation sector have created an environment that is not friendly and has been a challenge in our business,” the firm said.

“This is a difficult time for all of us, but this does not mean that it is the end of everything. We are ready to co-operate with the relevant authorities and reach an agreement that will create a stable environment for our business,” the statement says.

The company, however, said it was ready to key into Tanzania Vision 2025 which it believes is committed to building a strong, diverse, resilient, and competitive economy that is in line with the regional and international market and technological changes. While suggesting that its decision to leave Tanzania could be reversed the environment became better for its businesses

“We hoped that this would include creating an enabling environment for domestic and international trade to thrive in a positive and balanced way, but unfortunately, the situation is contrary to expectations.” The stamen reads further.

Uber has been providing transportation services in Tanzania through UberX, UberX Saver and UberXL services.

VenturesNow

3 years after, Nigeria’s Belemaoil restarts Oil Lease 55

Published

3 hours ago

October 15, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following a three-year hiatus due to theft-related damage to the plant, Nigerian independent producer, Belemaoil Producing, has reopened operations at its oil block on Oil Mining Lease 55, the company announced on Monday.

In February 2015, Belemaoil purchased OML 55 from Chevron Corp. OML 55 is situated in a marsh to shallow water area, approximately 40 kilometres west of the Bonny oil export facility.

According to a statement by a Belemaoil representative, widespread oil theft from OML 55’s delivery line to the Bonny terminal forced the closure of the facility in 2021.

The block has five oilfields, which provide more than 70 million standard cubic feet of petrol per day and around 14,000 barrels per day, according to the business.

An official stated that the first floating oil storage vessel arrived at OML 55 on October 6th, signalling “a major milestone in the company’s efforts to restart production”.

Nigeria, the largest oil producer in Africa, is attempting to increase its crude production, which has decreased recently as a result of widespread theft and sabotage, which drove oil majors to abandon onshore drilling in favour of deepwater production.

VenturesNow

Kenya permits JPMorgan Chase to open representative office

Published

4 hours ago

October 15, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The central bank of Kenya announced on Monday that JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) had been permitted to create a new tab and open a representative office in the East African nation.

According to a statement from the Central Bank of Kenya, representative offices of foreign banks in Kenya act as hubs for marketing and communication for their parent banks and affiliates.

The announcement further stated that the JPMorgan Chase representative office will help to diversify Kenya’s banking industry and encourage trade and investment.

In an effort by the largest United States lender to grow on the continent, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, is scheduled to visit Africa in mid-October, according to a report published by Reuters last month, which cited four people with knowledge of the situation.

Within the next three years, the bank intends to renovate 1,700 existing branches and open 500 new ones. According to J.P. Morgan’s most recent financial report, as of the end of the second quarter of 2024, the bank had 4,884 branches.