Uber Celebrates Its First Anniversary

Uber celebrates its first year in Egypt this month, and what a year it was! With over 1.5 million trips spanning all over the country, Cairo has been Uber's fastest growing market in Europe, the Middle-East, and Africa, having grown 73 times since its launch. This doesn't just mean trips and clients, but also that the tech platform has been creating over 2000 driving jobs per month and expanded beyond Cairo to Alexandria. As they wrap up their first year in Om El Donya, Uber recently announced its intention to invest $250 million in the MENA region - we can be sure that a big chunk of that is going towards Egypt.

A couple of partnerships have affirmed Uber's foothold in Egypt; the first is with Harrasmap, bent on educating drivers about sexual harassment and its negative impact, in an effort to create a safe environment for passengers. The second is with Bey2ollak, who are collaborating with Uber for a seamless integration of both apps. Bey2ollak users will be able to book their Uber, choose the type of car, and pick their route all from within the Bey2ollak app; Uber drivers will also benefit from this collaboration since they will be able to plot routes and calculate arrival time based on real-time road congestion reports.

Contributing significantly to Egypt's economy, Uber has created an impressive number of job opportunities for drivers, 40 per cent of whom were unemployed before joining Uber. Also, the number of female drivers joining the platform has increased tenfold over a period of six months. With all of these accomplishments under their belt within their first year here, it looks like Uber is set to take us to new heights in 2016. Chapeau, Uber!

You can check out their Facebook page here or follow them on Instagram @uber_egypt.