At the point when SafeBoda started out in 2015, it was the principal ride-hailing

organization in Uganda and has been the predominant player from that point forward.
With its widespread presence in Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria, SafeBoda started as a
community of local motorcycle taxi riders, locally referred to as boda-bodas, who have
played a crucial role in the evolution of Uganda’s transport sector for years. Just like the
company name suggests, SafeBoda initially majored on addressing road safety, a serious
challenge faced in Uganda’s transport sector by equipping riders with skills on safe
driving and providing them with safety equipment such as reflector jackets and helmets
for both riders and passengers (Musinguzi & Courtright, 2022). The company has also
diversified its revenue stream by launching more services such as facilitating utility
payments, deliveries, airtime purchase, cashless payments, mobile money transactions,
car hailing and a savings scheme in which users are offered a 10% interest on their
savings.

For a while now, the boda boda industry in Uganda has remained unregulated and
unattended to. Anyone is at liberty to own a motorbike and start ferrying passengers.
However, a mix of this lax regulation, a youthful population and high unemployment has
made boda riding a favourable economic activity for many. The boda industry has
blossomed, with estimates on the number of bodas ranging from 400,000 to 1 million
(The Independent, 2022). Given the multitude of these bodas, many have increasingly
been involved in both petty and high-profile crime.

The government has taken notice and has recently announced plans to have all boda
riders registered, announcing licensing fees and partitioning the capital city into
demarcated rider areas called stages (Nafula & Sserugo, 2022). In July 2020, Kampala
Capital City Authority, the institution charged with managing the capital city published a
list of 579 stages that the cabinet had approved for boda bodas in the five divisions of
Kampala with a plan to have a maximum of 50 riders operating per stage (The
Independent, 2022). In addition to this, passenger safety is also a concern though
enforcement of this has been left to the police through adhoc clamp downs on errant
riders without helmets and defective motorbikes.

SafeBoda is undoubtedly a pioneer and a model for what a professional and regulated
boda industry looks like. As a result, the company is ahead of these political changes
having successfully professionalised the boda industry by training riders, registering them
and improving road safety.

As the world grapples with rising commodity prices and inflation, what stand out in the
context of SafeBoda is the high fuel prices. Fuel prices have risen by almost 40% since
the start of 2021. The price of fuel is an important aspect for SafeBoda as it directly
affects the earnings of riders. Fuel is the most recurrent expenditure and accounts for the
largest proportion of riders’ spending. Unable to hike fares in response to the high fuel
prices since fares are determined by an app, riders’ profit margins have been squeezed,
making it expensive to meet their needs.

 In response, SafeBoda has partnered with Rubis Energy Uganda that operates a chain of
fueling stations where customers and drivers can buy fuel at discounted prices (The
Independent, 2022). This partnership has come in handy to alleviate hardship faced by its
riders and customers. To complement this, SafeBoda recently acquired a National
Payments Services license from Bank of Uganda which allows the company to operate
digital wallet for Ugandans. SafeBoda drivers and customers can now pay for this
discounted fuel using the app. This enables SafeBoda drivers to do their work more
efficiently and navigate the hard economic times.

References

Musinguzi, B., and Courtright, T. (2022) Rest of the World: Reporting Global Tech
Stories. Available at: https://restofworld.org/2022/ugandas-SafeBoda-has-upset-its-
riders-and-disappointed-its-customers/ (Accessed: 21st September 2022)

Nafula, J., and Sserugo, P. (2022) Unregistered boda boda riders banned from city: The
Daily Monitor. Available
at: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/unregistered-boda-boda-riders-
banned-from-city-3953426  (Accessed: 21st September 2022)

The Independent (2022) Boda Boda Riders in Uganda ready to negotiate Available

at: https://www.independent.co.ug/boda-boda-riders-in-kampala-ready-to-negotiate/ (Acc
essed: 21st September 2022)

The Independent (2022) SafeBoda launches partnership with Rubis Energy. Available

at: https://www.independent.co.ug/SafeBoda-launches-partnership-with-rubis-energy/ (A
ccessed: 21st September 2022)
The PESTEL (Political, Economic, Sociocultural, Technological, Environmental, and
Legal) analysis framework, is a comprehensive strategic tool for identifying the external
factors that influences the macro-environment of a firm. It is primarily focused on the
impact of macro-environmental factors on a company’s competitiveness and helps to
inform strategy formulation (Srdjevic et al., 2012).
Jamia is Africa’s largest e-commerce outlet for electronics, and fashion and related
products. It is present in 14 African countries in Africa, listed on the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE), and is Africa’s most popular e-commerce outlet (Anyanwu et al.,
2018). The dynamics of e-commerce business requires Jamiato regularly evaluate its
operating macro-environment and strategy. PESTEL framework provides a