Uber Technologies Inc. is investing $250 million to expand in the Middle East and North Africa, which have some of the ride-sharing service’s fastest-growing markets, Bloomberg reports.
Uber is already in Saudi Arabia, and the ride-sharing app is having a significant impact on the transportation economy there.
Women in Saudi Arabia are given greater mobility with ride-sharing apps like Uber.
And Uber is also making a social impact. Since women in Saudi Arabia are not permitted to drive themselves, they must rely on family members or hired drivers to get around. Efficient public transportation is virtually non-existent until major projects like Riyadh’s forthcoming metro come online in the next decade. Uber is a cost-efficient alternative for Saudi women, and a liberating service especially for those without private drivers.
According to Fast Company, Uber Saudi Arabia general manager Majed Abukhater said “that while his office doesn’t keep precise gender data, observation and anecdotal evidence suggest that 70% to 90% of Saudi Uber riders are women.”
Uber has also co-sponsored events for Saudi women, including 10KSA, a breast cancer awareness and education event that brought thousands of Saudi women together for the first time in the country’s history.
“Succeeding here is a really important stake for our global business,” Jambu Palaniappan, the company’s regional general manager for the Middle East, Africa and Central and Eastern Europe told Bloomberg.
Uber is valued at $50 billion as of June 2015, and recently raised $1 billion.
