Ride-hailing giant Uber on Thursday announced the appointment of Tope Akinwunmi as Country Manager for Nigeria, a position vacant since 2019 after the exit of Tayo Oyegunle, the now Vice President of Global Operations at Kobo360.
A graduate of the Federal University of Technology in Akure, where he obtained a Bachelor of Engineering, Tope’s work experience since 2015 has largely been in the area of growing businesses with disruptive and emerging technologies and cuts across growth, data analytics, operations, and strategy.
Tope worked with Workforce Group as a Strategy Analyst for six months before moving to PricewaterhouseCoopers Nigeria and taking the role of assistant manager of Disruptive and Emerging Tech. At PwC, he took up different roles for 4 years and 1 month before joining Kobo360 as Operations Manager, where he headed the Supply Growth as well as Marketplace and Analytics departments.
Also Read: Warner Music South Africa Appoints Temi Adeniji as MD
“When I read the job description, I knew this role was for me. Uber is igniting opportunity and changing the way the world moves, positively impacting communities and economies in the process,” Tope said on his appointment.
At Uber, he is managing all the operational functions of the Nigeria business, with a focus on growth, policy engagement as well as community engagement.
Also Read: Mohammed Mijindadi Appointed as GE Nigeria President
“I am excited to hit the ground running and begin engaging with our stakeholders to make Uber a better experience for all,” Tope said. “Nigeria has some big opportunities and has unique market dynamics. I also look forward to advocating for our vision for urban mobility and striking strategic partnerships.”
Uber launched in Lagos in 2014 and has expanded its operations to serve citizens in Abuja and Benin since then. Across sub-Saharan Africa, it is available in 16 cities and in 600 cities across 65 countries. Globally, San Francisco-headquartered Uber has yet to turn a profit from all of its operations.
