SimpliRide targets drivers in second attempt to crack Nigeria’s ride-hailing market

SimpliRide, an indigenous ride-hailing platform, is making a second bid to crack the country’s competitive market, this time by targeting the drivers essential to the operations of giants Uber and Bolt.

The company, founded in April 2024, with a strategy centred on a subscription model, hopes to appeal to drivers grappling with Nigeria’s difficult macroeconomic conditions. The company is charging a flat daily fee of ₦1,500 ($0,98), a stark contrast to the commission-based earnings deductions common among established players.

SimpliRide is directly courting drivers through their unions, hosting recent onboarding sessions for the App-Based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON) in Ikeja and Abuja. To sweeten the deal, new drivers are offered a 30-day free trial and the promise of welfare benefits, including healthcare insurance—a critical incentive after a driver’s death in January 2024 highlighted the precarious nature of the work.

“New drivers get the first 30 days of service free,” Diana Ibhiabor, SimpliRide’s Lead PR and Marketing Manager, said in a chat with Condia.

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This relaunch marks a critical test for SimpliRide, whose initial foray was hobbled by technical glitches that occur at signup, or the point of choosing a driver. Ibhiabor confirmed the platform’s “longstanding bugs” have been fixed to ensure a smoother experience.

Still, the upstart faces a steep climb. The ride-hailing business relies on a powerful network effect, requiring a critical mass of both passengers and drivers to be viable. While a fixed-fee model and added benefits may sway drivers, SimpliRide’s ultimate success will depend on whether it can achieve the wide-scale adoption needed to challenge its entrenched, deep-pocketed rivals.