How to Start Work as an Uber Driver in Nigeria (Simplified)

Uber was the first international e-Taxi company to register its presence in Nigeria and till today it is still the name that most Nigerians use to describe the entire business regardless of the app they use. For anybody looking to earn considerable income from e-Taxi business in Nigeria, signing up on Uber is a good way to go. 

In this post, I am going to help you simplify the process as an Uber Hero (representative) in Nigeria. 

There are a few things you need to know:

1. Uber registers fleet owners: these are people that have themselves qualified to drive on Uber and then added cars to form a fleet. They may then decide to exclusively manage their fleet or drive a car and oversee other cars in their fleet.

2. Uber registers partner-drivers: these are drivers with their own cars or they have acquired on hire purchase. 

3. Uber registers drivers: These are people with valid licenses that are at least 21 years and have passed the situational survey and successfully completed virtual instruction. They do not have cars and are yet to be added to a fleet at this stage.  This begs the question; why should you even bother to register on Uber if you do not have a car to drive yet?

Let me give you a few reasons:

i. It establishes you as a qualified driver that can be supported or empowered with a vehicle provided you have the integrity to go with your driving skill.

ii. It gives you the opportunity to work with a company called Moove. They offer cars on rental and hire purchase to qualified Uber drivers. 

Now, what do you need to get started if you want to be a registered driver (No.3)?

1. A valid driver's license.

2. Willingness to drive in cities where Uber currently operates which are: Lagos, Abuja, Benin, Ibadan, Calabar and Port Harcourt.

3. A recent smartphone with minimum of 2gb RAM, the higher the better.

4. Contact me via WhatsApp on 08085404500 to register you for free. These are the three things I will ask from you:

i. Your First Name:

ii. Your Surname:

iii. Your active phone number on your smartphone: 

I will put you through and educate you on what you need to complete the process. 

Once you are activated as a driver, you can talk to Moove or any other party that can give you a car to work with. 

Now, lets look at the requirements for those looking to get onboarded on Uber and already have their cars. 

These are the requirements to get your car Uber in Nigeria.

Car Specifications for Uber in Nigeria

• Model year 2000 or newer
• 4-door car
• Good condition with no cosmetic damage
• A working radio

Your paperwork

• Vehicle inspection report
• Vehicle insurance
• Roadworthiness certificate
• A valid Hackney permit

These are requirements in addition to what has been listed for drivers above. To be a fleet owner, you still need to register as a partner-driver first, so complete this process and add your first vehicle details before applying to run  a fleet. 

All of this can be confusing for a newbie but you can contact me on 08085404500 and we could get you working on Uber if you have your car and documents intact in 36 hours. 

Honesty Can Get You Out of Poverty this Eid Ul Adha (Ileya)

 Are you a young man feeling frustrated about life because you can't find a job or the one you have earns you little and you can barely save N1,000 at the end of the month?

 Let me give you an idea of what you can do this Eid ul Adha (Ileya) season. A lot of your successful kinsmen and neighbours will be more accessible around this time, whether you are celebrating Eid in your home town or city. Find time to socialize with them and be helpful to them. Ensure, that you let them know that before they leave town you just want their advice and assistance on an idea you have to better your life.

 Pitch the idea of them facilitating your access to a car to do e-taxi work, let them know that your 5-year plan out of poverty involves working to earn money from this business either by paying the car owner rental or purchasing the vehicle on hire purchase over 2-3 years.

 This is where your honesty comes to play. The investor would be interested in knowing if you are trustworthy and will not run away with the car, misuse the vehicle and  do other things to cheat them and break your agreement. You are likely to need guarantors, again, it is your trustworthiness that will encourage people to stand for you.

 Of course, you need to be a good driver and have a license for this to be feasible but you can always work on these if they are lacking. You might need to talk to a few people before finding anybody, but don't be discouraged by initial scepticism or rejection, keep asking, keep trying and of course, pray for divine intervention.

 You are not interested in e-taxi? No problem, replicate the same process with whatever you need to do to make progress in life;  be-it a scholarship or a business grant.

 Leverage on your honesty and keep to agreements, your breakthrough might not be far away with dedication and commitment to work.

 My name is Abdulkabir Olatunji and I register first timers with accepted cars on Uber. Contact me on 08085404500 if you are interested.

Find Out if Your Smartphone is Good for Uber Driver Work

Getting started on eTaxi business especially Uber can be very exciting for a newbie. However, your enthusiasm could be dampened if you find out that your device is not allowed on Uber. But not to worry, I will help you with the list of phones that Uber has banned for drivers and the list of other requirements that the smartphone you want to use to work on this globally-renowned e-hailing platform.

·                     Smartphones Banned by Uber for Drivers

Operating System	Make	Model
Android	Infinix X510	Infinix Hot 2
Android	Infinix X5010	Infinix mobile - X5010 (2018)
Android	TECNO KA7	Tecno Spark 2
Android	SM-G920F	Samsung Galaxy S6 (2015)
Android	Infinix X572	INFINIX mobile(NOTE 4) (2017)
iOS	iPhone6,1	Apple Iphone 5s (2013)
Android	SM-G570F	Samsung Galaxy J5 Prime (2016)
iOS	iPhone7,1	Apple iPhone 6 Plus (2014)
Android	TECNO L8 Lite	Techno mobile L8 (lite) (2017)
Android	SM-G900H	Samsung Galaxy S5 (2015)
Android	TA-1053	Nokia 5
Android	SM-G930F	Samsung Galaxy S7 (2016)
Android	Infinix HOT 4 Pro	Infinix mobile - Infinix HOT 4 Pro (2017)
Android	Infinix HOT 3	Infinix HOT 3
Android	Infinix HOT 4 Lite	Infinix HOT 4 Lite
Android	TECNO LA7	TECNO Pouvoir 2
Android	Infinix X624B	Infinix HOT 7
Android	F103L	Gionee F103L
Android	Nexus 5	Nexus 5
Android	TECNO F2	Tecno F2
Android	TECNO CA6	Tecno Camon
iOS	iPhone9,1	Iphone 7
iOS	iPhone5,4	Apple Iphone 5C (2013)
Android	DUB-LX1	Huawei Y7 2019
Android	TECNO CF7	Tecno Camon 11
Android	TECNO W2	Tecno W2
Android	TECNO CX Air	Tecno Camon CX Air
Android	SM-J730F	Samsung Galaxy J7 2017
Android	HTC One_M8	HTC One M8

Also, there is a list of technical specifications your smartphone should have.

• Minimum Technical Requirements for Smartphones

Hardware Type	Minimum Configuration
Android Version	Android 6.0 and newer
Sim Slots	Only one (Single) sim slot NO dual sim devices
RAM	Minimum Ram of 2 GB
Processor Brand	Two Approved processor brands. Snapdragon Mediatek
Minimum Processor Model	Snapdragon Model:630 Mediatek Model:Helio P Series - P10
Processor Cores	Minimum of an 8 Core processor also referred to as Octa Core
Processor Speed (GHz)	Minimum processor speed of 2 GHZ
Benchmark Score	Minimum GeekBench Score 4.1 - 600 (Single core) 4000 (multi core)
Screen Size	Minimum screen size of 4.7 Inch / 60.9 cm2
Location Hardware	Device must have both A-GPS and GLONASS chips internally

There you have it, ensure that you have the required phone before trying to do Uber. 

Best Ways to Buy a Car on Hire Purchase for Uber (e-Taxi) Business in Nigeria

The e-taxi business popularly called 'Uber' in Nigeria is one that many people have either engaged in or would like to be engaged in. For many people trying to get into the business, a big barrier to entry is to cost of purchasing cars. Renting cars and paying weekly returns to the car owner is an option but that is fraught with problems of mistrust that usually leads to arguments over payments to the car owner and who is to pay for maintenance. 

Having interacted with many drivers who are eager to work but cannot afford to buy cars outright, I did some research and present to you what I consider the best options for those trying to buy used cars on hire purchase for Uber and e-taxi business in general. 

Best Hire Purchase Options in Nigeria

1. Autocheck.Africa

This platform has a wide array of foreign used cars available with their vehicle inspection result detailed, right from the listings, you are told what is right about the car and what is wrong with it. You can go for inspection with your mechanic and also test drive the car at the Autocheck.Africa facility.

Getting finance for the car and being able to take possession takes the following 4 steps:

How to Get a Car on Hire Purchase from Autocheck.Africa

Step 1: Complete a short form and get personalised cars to choose from

Step 2: Select a car and review the terms of finance.

Step 3: Apply for a loan and receive personalized offers.

Step 4: Accept a loan offer and drive home your dream car.

Because you are getting a car that you reasonably understand its pros and cons, this is an attractive option that many drivers might consider with the bonus of being able to pay for the car in installments after getting financing to acquire it.

2. Betacar.ng 

This is another platform similar to the first. They are ready to provide financing to drivers who own a car or have a structured registered business. These are the steps required if you are interested:

How to Get a Car on Hire Purchase from Betacar.Ng

Step 1: Search available cars to select your preferred car.

Step 2: Use the simple car loan calculator on your selected car to check the upfront deposit required, the monthly repayment, and the period of payment.

Step 3: Click on "Apply for Loan" button and fill the pre-approval assessment form.

Step 4: You will get an approval or rejection email within 10 minutes.

Step 5: If approved, you will get an email listing the documents needed, so start preparing all your documents.

Step 6: Visit Betacar HQ office for inspection and test drive.

Step 7: Scan all required documents and submit as a reply to the email address (betacarfinancing@betacar.ng).

Step 8: Betacar.ng team will review and let you know once your application package is completed ... And you are all set.

According to Betacar.ng, your car could be ready for pick-up in 1 week after submission of all required documents. 

3.  Pukena.ng

This is another platform ready to give cars to salary earners who register with it to get a car for Uber. They say they prefer Toyota Corolla.

How to Get a Car on Hire Purchase from Betacar.Ng

Step 1: Fill out our online application form in details

Step 2: Get pre-verified. Provide proof of income/ evidence of salary domiciliation.

Step 3: Start Payment of N150,000. The rest payments will be spread in 12 months period

Step 4: Pick the car you want from any of our approved dealer partners. Provide a proforma invoice for your car of choice.

Step 5: Sign and drive away!

Pukena.ng requires a down-payment of N150,000 to get started on its hire purchase scheme and you have 12 months to complete payment for the car.

4. Nairaland.com

Nairaland is Nigeria's largest online forum and you can find people doing just about any business you can think of there. There are drivers and car owners there trying to link to each other and you can register to express your interest in getting a car on hire purchase.

How to Get a Car on Hire Purchase on Nairaland.com

Step 1: Register an account

Step 2: Search for threads on buying cars on hire purchase like this one.

Step 3: Express your interest on the thread and give details of how you can be contacted. You can also contact owners to have a meeting with you where you can agree on  terms of hire purchase agreement and when to start.

This is more of one-on-one conversation and as such, you should take all security precautions like only meeting with people on a major road and verifying any office address before visiting to ensure that it is a legit location. Nairaland has good and bad people, it is up to you to screen and carefully scrutinize any offer that is made to you..

There you have it folks, if you are someone wanting to enter the Uber (e-taxi) model of business, you might want to contact me. I am a confirmed Uber recruiter and I can help you set-up your account in really quick time for free. 

Reach me via call or WhatsApp on 08085404500 and let us see how we can help you get started as soon as possible.

My Uber story and how you can start yours

If I say I have many ogas, it is not an exaggeration because I work with so many people and institutions. Some have been dropped over the years and some are still active. Our levels of engagement vary from director, consultant, partner, recruiter and so on.

I recognized over a decade ago that I am not the type of person you will give one job and try to control like an automaton. The oga that tried it about 13 years ago was dancing in his seat the day I told him I was leaving. Apparently, nobody had told him the things I had politely told him that night, no one else probably will.

I digress, this post is really about the e-taxi business. The last 10 years has seen us move from corporate coloured cabs to ride-sharing platforms. I partnered with Indriver as a recruiter in 2019 and it gave me so many insights into the business. Even after they stopped paying me for my services, I kept helping people to address the problems they were having getting on their platform -- for free. We are talking about taking about 10 calls plus multiple WhatsApp messages on some days. I did this for primarily 2 reasons:

1. To know the business to a point of being relevant in the industry.

2. As a form of personal social responsibility -- every person I help to get on the platform has dependants they can better-provide for with the job. If you can add value to others without detriment to yourself, do it.

Now, the thing about adding value to others is that it builds authority and authority attracts value to you. It happened that some representatives of Uber saw what I do and decided to contact me to do it for them. My response? "Why not gentlemen?".

So, in the last few weeks we did our onboarding and I am pleased to let you know that I am officially a recruiter for Uber.

Driver I helped register giving feedback on approval

My job is to identify interested and potential drivers to join the platform and help them start successfully. This is at my own time and pace within what is acceptable to Uber.

So, dear friends, if you or anyone have a car that qualifies and are ready for Uber, you can contact me. Call or WhatsApp 08085404500. I am ready to help you get started on your Uber journey.

Twitter's Loss is Koo's Gain, Indian App now in Top 5 Most Downloaded Chart for Nigeria

Twitter got banned in Nigeria last week and the ripples of that decision by the government of President Muhammadu Buhari are still being felt.

The Nigerian government announced the ban via a Twitter thread ironically via Twitter thread which read in part: "The Federal Government has suspended, indefinitely, the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria".

One of the fallouts of this ban is the rapid adoption of a rival India-developed microblogging app called Koo.

The app promises to respect laws of any country it operates in and Nigerians are trooping to it as an alternative

to Twitter which reports say has entered talks with the Nigerian government on how to have its ban lifted.

Koo is now listed as the 5th most downloaded app on Google Play store in Nigeria from almost no where.

In a move that is likely to bolster Koo, the Nigerian government has opened an account on the app.

Co-founder and CEO of Koo, Aprameya Radhakrishna  wrote: “A very warm welcome to the official handle of the Government of Nigeria on @kooindia! Spreading wings beyond India now”.

It is not yet clear if this is the beginning of huge growth for Koo in Nigeria and beyond, only time will tell.

Indriver's New Replenish Policy and How to Pay Your Commissions as a Driver

Indriver now charges 9.5% commission per trip.

Many e-hailing drivers have been enjoying Indriver in Lagos since 2019 and it has been a major lifeline for many people with its zero commissions policy and getting paid by passengers in cash. Many drivers just love the convenience and I have received countless calls from them over the last 2 years to get on the platform. Some of them still call it "Indrive", I don't know why.

However, Indriver has now effectively started charging commissions on trips. The good news is that it is lower than the other major companies. 

All You Need to Know About Indriver Commission

1. It is a flat rate of 9.5% per trip. 

2. You get charged when you get to the pick-up destination also known as 'A  Point' and when calling the passenger before pressing the "I arrived" button.

3. The commission is refundable if the passenger refuses to show up. Just remember to click the "Passenger didn't show up" button. You will be refunded after 30 days. If you do not click the button, you will not get a refund.

4. You pay your commission through the replenish prompt. I will share the detailed process next:

How to Replenish Your Account on Indriver

Step 1: Open the Indriver app

Step 2: Switch to driver mode if you are not there already.

Step 3: Open the app menu by clicking on the 3 horizontal lines on the left hand side of your screen. 

Step 4: Click on my account, you will be taken to your Personal Account, where you can find your balance, refunds and your status.

Step 5: To replenish your account, click on "Top-up account".

Step 6: Select a payment option; "Bank cards" or "Bank Transfer".

Step 7: After clicking "Bank cards", fill in the card details (card number, expiration date, CVC, Cardholder name. Please ensure you only use your card for this not someone else's.

Step 8: Enter your email.

Step 9: Enter an amount above N300 (three hundred naira)

Step 10: Click "Pay in".

How to Pay Using Bank Transfer Method to Replenish on Indriver

Follow the steps above to Step 6. At Step 6, choose "Bank Transfer" option. 

Step 7: Enter an amount above N300 (three hundred naira) with your name and email then tap "Next".

Step 8: Select your bank from the list and click continue.

Step 9: You will receive an OTP on your phone (One-time password). Enter it and confirm. Your Indriver account will be credited. 

My Uber Story

Quick Access to Fast track Payment

Check for the "Pay" button in the lower right corner of the app and you will be immediately taken to your "Personal Account" to complete payment by bank card or bank transfer. 

Yes, Indriver has started charging commissions but it is still very low to its top competitors -- Uber and Bolt and drivers still get their money upfront and only need to replenish their account to continue using the service. I think it is a practical but effective step by the company to add value to drivers and passengers while remaining competitive. 

Get additional help with replenishing your Indriver account as a driver.

Just knowing about Indriver? Learn how to register.