Will Uber launch self-driving cars in Africa? 

Global ride hailing giant Uber  is revving up its autonomous ambitions, but Africa may not be part of the ride, at least not anytime soon.

In July 2025, the ride-hailing giant announced a new partnership with Baidu Inc., one of China’s leading AI firms, to integrate robotaxis into the Uber app. The rollout is expected to begin later this year across Asia and the Middle East, with plans to expand into Europe and Oceania. Cities like Phoenix, Austin, Atlanta, and Abu Dhabi already offer access to Uber’s autonomous rides, and more global deployments are underway.

But Africa? Not on the map yet.

Rather than building self-driving cars in-house, Uber is doubling down on strategic alliances. In addition to Baidu, Uber has entered partnerships with US-listed WeRide Inc., Pony.ai, and Beijing Momenta Technology Co. These collaborations hint at a future where Uber becomes the go-to platform for autonomous rides, powered by external innovators across Asia and beyond.

The news has buoyed investor confidence, with Uber’s stock ticking upward as traders warm up to the long-term cost savings of a driverless future. Uber gained 0.13% in pre-trading ahead of Friday’s opening on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) 

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Why isn’t Africa included?

Africa has not been entirely absent from mobility innovation. Electric vehicle startups like Spiro, Ampersand, and Moja Ride all tested their early models on the continent, showing that Africa can be fertile ground for emerging mobility tech.

Yet, self-driving cars require a far more complex ecosystem than EVs alone. According to the African Development Bank, the continent has the highest road traffic fatality rate per capita globally—26.6 deaths per 100,000 people, compared to 6.5 in Europe. Poor road infrastructure, unpredictable traffic behavior, and inadequate signage present major challenges to the machine learning algorithms that guide autonomous vehicles.

On top of that, infrastructure gaps in internet connectivity and digital mapping create another barrier. Unlike in developed markets, where high-definition maps and 5G connectivity support autonomous operations, most African cities simply lack the digital backbone needed to support even basic Level 3 autonomy. Level 3 autonomy is a situation where a car can drive itself under certain conditions but still needs a human to take over when requested.

The regulatory environment is also underdeveloped. While Europe, the U.S., and parts of the Middle East are establishing laws to govern safety, liability, and testing protocols for self-driving cars, most African nations haven’t even started the conversation.

South Africa, however, is an outlier. It recently opened the door to pilot testing for autonomous vehicles and is spearheading regulatory discussions. Still, continent-wide adoption remains far off.

Nigerian-born vehicle financing company Moove has partnered with Waymo, Google’s autonomous vehicle subsidiary, to manage a fleet of self-driving cars in Phoenix and, soon, Miami. While this signals Africa’s talent is contributing to the global self-driving narrative, it’s doing so far from home.