Uber shuts down Nigeria operations, its third African exit in a year

Uber is winding down its ride-hailing operations in Nigeria, ending a 12-year run in one of its earliest African markets. The move took effect September 2, making Nigeria the third African country Uber has exited in about a year.

"We are writing to share some difficult news," Uber told customers in an email, confirming the decision after what it described as a thorough review of its Nigerian business. In a separate note to drivers, the company said it understood the news would be hard to hear and will make a one-off goodwill payment to help ease the transition.

Uber launched in Nigeria in 2014 and helped build the country's ride-hailing market from the ground up. Its exit leaves Bolt and inDrive as the dominant players, while opening room for smaller local operators like Lagride and Rida. None of that changes the underlying economics working against ride-hailing in Nigeria: high fuel and vehicle maintenance costs, pressure to keep fares affordable, and the constant work of attracting and retaining drivers.

The exit follows years of friction between Uber and its Nigerian drivers over fares and commissions, including a driver protest in March 2026, and unfolds during a broader restructuring at Uber globally. The company has laid off more than 3,000 employees, about 10% of its workforce, across its ride-sharing, delivery and robotaxi teams. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told staff the changes reflect how the company is organised and prioritised, not the value of individual contributions.

Nigeria is not an isolated case. Uber left Tanzania in January after a long-running dispute with the country's transport regulator, and exited Côte d'Ivoire in September 2025 after six years, citing operational friction. Separately, on September 1, it discontinued UberX, its budget tier, in South Africa, a narrower service-level pullback rather than a full country exit. Taken together, the pattern points to Uber pulling back from African markets where regulatory pressure, driver disputes and thin margins outweigh the value of staying.

Whatever weight each factor carried in this specific call, the outcome is the same for Nigeria's drivers and riders: one less option in a market that just got smaller.