- Bolt has expanded into Cairo, Egypt, in North Africa, to compete with other ride-hailing companies, including Uber and inDrive.
- With its recent expansion into Egypt, Bolt introduces a compelling offer for riders — a 6-month 50% discount, fully covered by Bolt. Additionally, drivers stand to benefit from a waiver of the standard 15% commission.
- This expansion into Egypt follows Bolt's recent forays into Zimbabwe and Botswana. The move aligns with the company's substantial commitment of €500 million ($542.8 million) to invest in Africa, signalling a strategic plan to broaden its presence and generate employment opportunities for over 300,000 new drivers.
Bolt typically charges up to 15% commission to drivers, but the company has waived this commission in Cairo. This means drivers will use the app commission-free, and the e-hailing business will pay them the total amount earned for a trip.
On the launch, Haitham Mansour, Bolt Egypt's Country Manager, said competitive pricing is a strategic approach to driving demand.
“By keeping our commissions substantially lower than our counterparts, we ensure drivers earn more while presenting customers with appealing service fees.”
Bolt's entry into Egypt marks the company's 15th African market. It launched in South Africa in 2016 and has since expanded to several countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroon, Zambia, Tanzania, and Uganda.
With its most recent launch in Egypt, it will compete with the country's existing ride-hailing service providers, which include Uber, InDriver, Careem, and DiDi.
In January 2024, Bolt disclosed its expansion into Harare, Zimbabwe, and will waive driver commissions for at least six months. Following the expansion announcement, Bolt's Head of Expansion, Laurent Koerge, stated that the company plans to maintain high demand through competitive pricing.
In February 2024, it announced it’d launch in Gaborone, Botswana's capital, where inDrive has been operating since 2019. It also waived its usual 15% to 20% commission from drivers for the first six months and hired 100 drivers to help launch ride-sharing services in the city.
