E-motorbike startup SafeBoda is stopping its operations in Kenya.
The announcement just went live on the platform’s Twitter account.
The startup, which has also been in the Send services business cites that the exit is thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic that has made it operations challenging.
SafeBoda admits that the Boda Boda business has been hit hard, and while the transport industry is on a path to recovery, its operations have not been sustainable.
SafeBoda has been running its motorbike business in Nairobi for a while. It has also been a popular proposition to e-taxis because of flexibility and convenience.
One of the COVID-19 protective measures is maintaining a social distance of at least one metre. This, is, however, impossible to meet when hailing a motorcycle.
Still, people have been using the rides, but not as much to make SafeBoda sustainable.
Operations in Uganda and Nigeria will remain open.
Customers have till 27 November to exhaust their wallets before the company ‘pauses’ operations.
Statement
SafeBoda has made a very difficult decision to pause Rides & Send services from the 27th of November 2020. While Nairobi is seeing some economic recovery from Covid-19, Boda transportation has been hit hard. This has meant our business cannot sustainably operate in this environment and unfortunately, the timeline for a full recovery is not certain.
This decision is a hard one for SafeBoda to make. We know that this will negatively impact our community of Boda Boda drivers. Our community is at the core of what we do at SafeBoda In Nairobi, we set out to professionalize and improve the Boda industry, building a community of over 4,000 SafeBodas that followed road safety rules, helmet wearing and gave great customer service. Over the past two years, our customers enjoyed the SafeBoda service and completed millions of rides in Nairobi.
From now until the 27th of November we will be promoting our SafeBoda drivers and this will be a chance for customers to use their remaining wallet balances to take rides or send packages.
SafeBoda will continue to grow in Uganda and Nigeria and will continue to be dedicated to empowering its communities to thrive.
