Takura Malaba has been named the new Bolt Regional Manager for East and Southern Africa, beginning on January 1st, 2023. He will be taking over for Kenneth Micah, who held the position of Regional Manager for Eastern Africa since October 2019.
Takura joined Bolt in November 2021 as the Country Manager for ride-hailing in South Africa, where he was responsible for Strategy and Operations. Prior to joining Bolt, he was a Data Science Manager at Deloitte, where he focused on strategy, cloud, and machine learning design and implementation. Before that role, he was a strategy and consulting manager at Accenture, where he was in charge of strategy development, strategic cost reduction, and advanced analytics.
Bolt offers its services in Europe and Africa, with over 100 million customers in over 45 countries.
Since its launch in Kenya in 2017, Bolt says it has experienced notable growth, covering over 900 million km and serving over 4 million customers across cities and urban centers in the country.
The company currently has a food delivery network of over 80 estates within Nairobi and its metropolitan area and over 1,250 restaurants where customers can order food through the app.
Although it has faced challenges such as rising fuel prices and inflation in 2022, Bolt remained the most popular mobility platform in Kenya with over 50,000 drivers and couriers.
Quotes
“Bolt is delighted to have Takura take on the role of Regional Manager for East and Southern Africa. Since joining the business in 2021, he has done an excellent job in leading the South African market. He has steered the business, and defended it against stiff competition, driven strong growth despite a difficult macro economic environment and effectively managed costs. He has also been instrumental in making significant progress in improving the safety and quality of our platform in the country. I am confident he will continue to do a great job in this new role.” Said Paddy Partridge, Vice President for Rides at Bolt.
Speaking on his appointment, Takura said he was looking forward to continued collaboration with the regional teams to spur the growth of the Bolt business in the region. “I am honoured to have been considered for the role of Regional Manager for East and Southern Africa, and I am eager to take on the challenges and opportunities it presents. My priority will be to continue growing the business in the region by championing our value propositions that focus on affordability, safety and sustainability. I believe in working collaboratively with my colleagues, partners, and stakeholders to achieve results, and I look forward to using my skills and expertise to contribute to the Bolt’s success and to make a positive impact in this region,” said Takura Malaba, Regional Manager, East and Southern Africa.
