Uber provides Egyptians with new economic opportunities against the current and anticipated economic challenges, especially the rising unemployment of the youth and the educated, pointed out an academic study. The study, entitled ‘A Glimpse into the Sharing Economy: An Analysis of Uber Driver-Partners in Egypt’, by Dr Nagla Rizk, professor of economics & founding director of the Access to Knowledge for Development Center (A2K4D) at the American University’s School of Business sheds light on the impact Uber has on work in the Egyptian economy and the value proposition it offers to partner drivers.
Dr Rizk said that Egypt’s economic growth remains largely under its expected potential and the economic downturn faced by the country makes it even more challenging for the unemployed men and women. Since launching in Cairo in November 2014, Uber has created work opportunities for 50000 drivers with over 40 percent of them being unemployed before. Today, 75 percent of its partner drivers are very satisfied to work with the Uber app and enjoying the flexibility it offers.
Uber continues to push to empower its partner drivers and has recently closed two more deals in this direction. Firstly, in partnership with Rawaj, Uber now offers a vehicle financing product available in Egypt, with payment plans increasing up to five years. With this lower deposit requirement in the market, this new partnership aims to allow 30 percent of Uber partner drivers to acquire a vehicle by the end of 2017.
Uber’s General Manager in Egypt, Abdellatif Waked said, “Our commitment to partner drivers starts by taking concrete actions to remove barriers to become a driver. Thus, with increasing vehicles prices these last six months in Egypt and 40 percent of our partners not owning a car, we have worked with Rawaj to build up a designed vehicle financing product that is unprecedented in the market.”
Secondly, Uber has just signed a regional deal with Al Tibby to provide with three months free access to their app for its partner drivers. The application allows partner-drivers to connect with a selection of certified doctors, and get round-the-clock affordable medical consultations over the phone. This gives partner-drivers access to safe and effective medical care from the comfort of their homes, without the need to visit a hospital and wait long hours to address medical inquiries they might have.
“Enabling partner drivers to enhance their lives is a great privilege and I know that this is just the beginning of what the sharing economy can do to open up opportunities to Egyptians. This is made possible thanks to the advanced technology Uber is building everyday across the board, with the best engineers in the world bringing together best practices and learning from more than 70 countries in the world and today celebrating Cairo as one of the fastest growing city in the world for Uber,” Mr Waked added.