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Official investigation launched into Uber’s withdrawal from Nigeria
On Sunday, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) in Nigeria launched an investigation into the abrupt withdrawal of the US company Uber from the Nigerian market. Uber had previously announced on 2 September that it would cease operations in Nigeria and Uganda with immediate effect. The Commission is now examining whether the mobility service provider has fulfilled its obligations towards its customers following the cessation of operations, and how any unfulfilled services will be dealt with.
In an official statement, Uber explained that, following a thorough review of its business priorities, it had taken the decision to cease operations in Nigeria and Uganda. The withdrawal is limited exclusively to these two markets and will have no impact on Uber’s other business operations in Africa. The company did not provide any further details at this stage. It remains unclear how many drivers and passengers are affected by the withdrawal and whether any assets will be sold. In the meantime, selected drivers have received a one-off payment of 40,000 naira (around 26 euros), which Uber had previously announced as a “gesture of goodwill”. The payment was made to drivers who had been active on the platform over the past three to six months; any outstanding debts owed to Uber were partially deducted. The question of the future use and financing obligations for vehicles financed through the partnership between Uber and the mobility company Moove remains unresolved. Under the partnership, drivers were able to finance vehicles for the UberGo service via Moove, but were only permitted to offer rides via Uber and no other ride-hailing platform.
Uber’s business in Nigeria had recently been characterised by rising operating costs, high inflation, currency fluctuations and increasing competition in the ride-hailing market. In particular, the withdrawal of government petrol subsidies in 2023 led to a significant rise in fuel prices and, on several occasions, to protests by drivers against low fares and high commission rates. Most recently, Uber also clashed with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) over the terms and conditions for ride-hailing services at airports. The US company began operations in Lagos in 2014, subsequently expanding into other cities in Nigeria, and in 2019 added a boat service to its offering in Lagos to provide commuters with an alternative to heavily congested road traffic. The company had been operating in Uganda since 2016. The withdrawal from Nigeria and Uganda is part of a global restructuring of the company, which has announced plans to cut off more than 3,000 jobs worldwide as it refocused on its core business. Uber had already withdrawn from Tanzania in January and from Côte d’Ivoire last year. As a result, the US ride-hailing company will in future only operate in five African countries: Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco and South Africa. A reduction in services was also announced in South Africa this month – the lower-cost UberX service is to be discontinued there.
Debate on the further expansion of data centres in South Africa
The rapid expansion of data centres in South Africa is raising increasing questions regarding the demand for electricity, water and land, as well as potential impacts on human rights. More than 250 submissions were received as part of a consultation process launched by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) in May, as reported by various media outlets at the weekend. In light of growing public concerns, the Commission had called on stakeholders from civil society, the business sector, academia and government bodies to submit written submissions on the human rights implications of the expansion of data centres and digital infrastructure. Among other things, the process aims to assess whether the existing legal, regulatory and governance frameworks are compatible with constitutional and international human rights standards.
Most recently, the approval of two data centres in Cape Town operated by the US infrastructure company Equinix had attracted criticism. According to calculations by civil society organisations, if a conventional cooling system were used, the planned facilities could consume more than 4.4 billion litres of water annually – in a city that has already experienced repeated water shortages in the past. The electricity capacity required – estimated by organisations at around 174 megawatts – has also drawn criticism against the backdrop of South Africa’s electricity supply crisis in recent years, which has led to repeated widespread power cuts (load-shedding). Furthermore, data centre operators are not currently obliged to disclose the water and electricity consumption of individual facilities. At the end of August, five South African civil society organisations therefore called on the SAHRC to investigate the impact of data centre expansion and to ensure greater transparency regarding their resource requirements. They argued that, until appropriate regulatory guidelines are established and the implications of further expansion have been clarified, approval for new facilities should be temporarily suspended.
Data centre operators, on the other hand, point to the increasing use of new cooling technologies, such as closed-loop cooling systems in South Africa, which can reduce the facilities’ water consumption. According to the Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) in South Africa, the water consumption of South African data centres is already well below the global average. The industry also points to the increasing use of renewable energy when it comes to electricity demand. According to Equinix, the company has already achieved 100% coverage with clean and renewable energy in South Africa. The industry also rejects any link between the expansion of data centres and electricity supply bottlenecks or rising electricity tariffs.
The electricity supply in South Africa had recently improved significantly following the severe crises of recent years. According to its own figures, the state-owned electricity supplier Eskom carried out controlled power cuts on just four days in the current financial year, compared with 329 days in 2024. Most recently, the company even recorded electricity surpluses, although more than 80% of the country’s electricity generation continues to be based on coal. At the same time, the data centre sector in South Africa has grown significantly in recent years. According to President Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa accounts for around 70% of Africa’s data centre capacity. The country has more than 60 data centres with a disclosed capacity of around 500 megawatts; in 2025, the market value was estimated at 2.55 billion US dollars. International and regional operators such as Equinix, Microsoft, Vantage Data Centres and Teraco are continuing to expand their presence in the country. Meanwhile, experts do not view the call for a temporary halt to further licences as a fundamental rejection of foreign investment. Rather, they believe it could help to establish a clear framework for further expansion that safeguards both consumers and businesses.
In othter news
On Friday, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on reforming the world map. Under the resolution, the centuries-old Mercator projection is to be replaced by the Equal-Earth projection, developed in 2018, which depicts the continents with greater accuracy in terms of area. On this projection, Africa, Latin America, South Asia and Oceania appear significantly larger, whilst the USA appears smaller. The resolution, titled ‘Correct the Map’, was tabled by Togo with the support of the African Union. 164 states voted in favour, including Germany, whilst Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Serbia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine abstained. The US was the only country to vote against it. The resolution is not binding, but is intended to encourage a change in map representations worldwide. The US justified its rejection by arguing that the resolution pursued an “ideological agenda” and distracted from the “real issues of international peace, prosperity and good relations”. Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey, on the other hand, welcomed the resolution as a historic moment and emphasised that it was a matter of justice, dignity and equality. The African Union had already announced its support for the ‘Correct the Map’ campaign last year and criticised the fact that the Mercator projection does not represent Africa accurately, thereby conveying a false world view that has an impact on education, the media and politics (Press Review CW 34/2025).