Uber Ghana marks decade of mobility with safety summit, Moto launch and driver awards

Uber Ghana capped a month of tenth-anniversary commemorations on Thursday with a day-long programme at the British Council that paired a road safety summit with the official launch of Uber Moto and an evening awards ceremony honouring ten driver-partners, as the ride-hailing giant sought to frame its first decade as both an economic catalyst and a safety-conscious operator.

The anniversary carried particular weight given Uber's broader recalibration across Africa. While the company has reportedly withdrawn from Côte d'Ivoire, Tanzania, Nigeria and Uganda, Ghana presented a contrasting narrative: expansion rather than retrenchment, with the introduction of a new motorcycle service even as other markets contracted .

A Decade of Movement and Earnings

Since launching in Accra in June 2016, Uber has grown from a single-city experiment into a platform serving four Ghanaian cities—Accra, Kumasi, Cape Coast and Takoradi. According to company figures, more than 200,000 driver-partners have earned through the platform over the past decade, with over 40 percent relying on it as their primary source of income. Collectively, drivers and fleet owners have earned hundreds of millions of dollars, while the platform has facilitated more than 1.18 billion kilometres of movement across the country .

Jada Badu, Uber Ghana's Country Manager, framed the milestone as a collective achievement. "Ten years ago, Uber launched in Ghana with a simple goal: to reimagine how people move and create new economic opportunities through technology," she said. "Today, we are proud to have become part of how millions of Ghanaians move, work and connect" .

The economic impact was illustrated through individual stories. Mawuli Atakpa, who joined Uber in Kumasi in 2018, used his earnings to build a family home in Accra and support his children's education, including his eldest daughter's attendance at one of Ghana's leading secondary schools .

Road Safety Takes Centre Stage

The day's centrepiece was a road safety summit that brought together regulators, law enforcement and transport stakeholders—a deliberate sequencing that placed safety rhetoric ahead of the Moto launch.

Abraham Amaliba, Director-General of the National Road Safety Authority, delivered a blunt assessment of the stakes. Motorcycles accounted for 36.6 percent of road traffic fatalities in 2024, he noted, warning that the introduction of commercial motorcycle ride-hailing "should not become an additional source of road crashes" .

"Road safety must remain a shared responsibility," Amaliba said, emphasising the need to protect passengers, okada riders and pedestrians alike as commercial motorcycle transportation becomes an increasingly prominent feature of urban mobility . He urged Uber Moto riders to distinguish themselves through discipline, compliance with traffic regulations and consistent use of approved helmets, and pointed to the TraffiTech enforcement system as a tool for monitoring violations .

DSP Wari Skube, a Divisional Commander of the Ghana Police Service, reinforced the message with a focus on road safety education, enforcement and responsible riding .

The safety warnings carried an implicit acknowledgment: Uber Moto enters a market where commercial motorcycling, while widely used, has long operated in a regulatory grey zone and carries significant fatality risks. The company indicated the service would prioritise safety and responsible operations while offering commuters an additional option in congested urban areas .

Recognition and the Road Ahead

The evening programme shifted to celebration, with ten distinguished drivers recognised for their contributions over the decade. The awards ceremony, moderated by Obomengniibaa Nana Akua of Asaase Radio, also acknowledged fleet partners and other stakeholders who supported Uber's operations .

Uber said the milestone would be followed by a month-long programme of driver and rider appreciation initiatives .

For Uber, the Ghana anniversary offered a narrative of continuity and commitment in a region where its footprint has otherwise narrowed. For the drivers and regulators in the room, however, the harder questions—whether motorcycle ride-hailing can be made safe at scale, and whether platform earnings can remain viable amid Ghana's congestion and fuel costs—will define the next decade more than any award or anniversary speech.