Uber exit leaves Moove-financed drivers uncertain as union points them to Bolt and inDrive
Drivers who obtained or deployed vehicles through financing deals to work on Uber’s platform in Nigeria now face uncertainty after the company left the country, their union said on Thursday.
Uber discontinued Nigerian operations on 2 September, ending a 12-year presence. It has a partnership with Moove under which financed cars were used on Uber, and Uber is a major Moove investor. Drivers on the UberGo service had been required to operate only on Uber. With the app gone, they must still meet loan payments without the platform that justified the cars.
The Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transport Workers of Nigeria told The PUNCH that those drivers would have to move officially to Bolt and inDrive. Public Relations Officer Steven Iwindoye asked what would happen to vehicles acquired specifically for Uber. Migration, the union said, comes on top of high fuel and maintenance costs. Many drivers cannot keep their cars in good condition.
Iwindoye argued that dominating a market means little if neither the platform nor the driver is earning enough, and said Bolt and inDrive hold interactive sessions while Uber, in the union’s account, gave little response.
Nigeria’s ride-hailing and mobility market was valued at $450 million in 2025 and is projected to reach $982 million by 2032, according to Ken Research. Uber said the withdrawal applies to Nigeria and Uganda only and that it still sees long-term opportunity in sub-Saharan Africa. It is cutting about 3,300 jobs worldwide, roughly 10 per cent of staff, as it simplifies operations and invests in areas such as robotaxis.
The company rejected any link between the exit and a Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria directive on airport e-hailing, saying the decision followed its own review. It had already left Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire and dropped UberX in South Africa.
Economist Dr Ayo Teriba called the exit sector-specific, not proof that Nigeria as a whole has become uninvestable, but he argued that airport restrictions and charges in Lagos may have hurt the business. The union wants a larger say in national rules for app-based transport.
For drivers with Moove cars, the immediate problem is narrower: a loan built around one app, and a market that now runs on two others. Whether Bolt and inDrive absorb the fleet—and whether Moove rewrites the contracts—will decide if the exit is a switch of platforms or a wave of stranded vehicles.
