Exclusive Launches!

Here are some recent launches by different companies in Nigeria and beyond,starting with Uber.
You know Uber yeah! Taxi hailing service? Right. You should know also that it has officially launched in Nigeria's Federal capital city, Abuja. Lagos in early January, hit over a billion trips since its inception in 2014, and one wondered when the capital city would get her fair share of the "launch pie."

Now it's finally here. The launch was officially announced on the 23rd of March, making Abuja the eleventh African city that Uber launched after Mombasa Kenya. This also made Abuja the 400th city (I think) in the world, Uber launched. The app offered users in Abuja 6 days of free rides.
Uber also partnered with some Abuja-based firms to attract users. As a way of celebrating their city, the first riders (talking about the partners) were out and about, and had special treats in store for all Abuja Uber riders.

Among these were Charles Okpaleke; CEO and co-founder of the Play Entertainment Network, Adama Ndimi; a passionate humanitarian and one of Northern Nigeria's most influential taste makers, Restaurateur and culture promoter, Sal Gbaja of Salamander Cape. There was also celebrity wedding and lifestyle photographer, George Okoro, and owner of women's fashion house, Dzyn, Ogwa Iweze and they all had some interesting discounts for Uber riders. All that was needed were Uber receipts or scan codes to get discounts.

Sliide launched officially in Nigeria last month and already has over 5000 downloads on the Google Play Store.
It's a new startup that wants to lower the cost of mobile broadband for Nigerians. With high cost of Internet access, and growing social network presence on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, and the rest of them, it is only needful to find new and better ways to help Nigerians pay for Internet access.

Android users can earn NGN100 free airtime just by downloading the Sliide Airtime app from the Google Play Store, and more airtime every month for keeping Slide Airtime on the phone.
Also, users can earn an extra NGN100 for every friend they introduce to Sliide Airtime, and their friends will also earn NGN100 each. The service can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or www.sliideairtime.ng.

South African born Corbyn Munnik, is the CEO and co-founder, Sliide Airtime. Corbyn who had his childhood in Botswana, said the service is non-intrusive. People get free airtime and are also sent contest which will be interesting and useful. The company is focused on Nigeria for now but intends to expand into South Africa, Ghana and Kenya later.

And finally, Ford is going head-on with Uber, with its FordPass. FordPass, a mobile app, is available to both customers and non-customers of Ford. It provides live chat assistance and navigation, remote starting, locking and unlocking, vehicle health information, finding and paying for parking. It is also testing sharing and borrowing of cars via the app. This was during the keynote address by President and CEO of Ford Motor Company, Mark Fields. He suggested that FordPass could do for the car industry what the iTunes did for the music industry.

The app has been introduced in the UK and Germany and will formally launch this month. (Don't know if it has launched already).

Uber's "Family Profiles" Feature Lets You Pay For The Rides Of Others

A quick history on the Uber company. I'm sure you know about Uber and what it does, or must have heard about it, or know someone that knows someone that uses the Uber service. Well, it's a multinational online transport network company based in San Francisco, CA, which develops markets and operates the Uber mobile app, which allows consumers with smartphones to submit a trip request which is then routed to Uber drivers who use their own cars.
(This is me quoting wiki-you-know-who) *winks *.

The company was founded in March of 2009 by Travis kalanick and Garrett Camp with Travis kalanick as the CEO and has since grown to be a worldwide brand offering consumers like you and I, car hiring and private taxi services through Uber drivers around you and offering interested car owners, an opportunity to run their own taxi or car hire services.
Basically, it works like a dispatch service and sends the nearest Uber driver to your location. Easy Peazy, Lemon Squeezy!

Uber recently released Instant Pay - a pilot program - that allows its drivers to immediately access cash earned, using a third-party mobile banking service called Gobank. It's only available in some cities for a start.
Now, onto its Family Profiles feature. The on-demand car service announced a few days ago, its new feature called Family Profiles which is designed to make it easier for its customers to pay for the rides of their friends and family. A really good idea as this was one of Uber's most frequently requested features by its users. This feature is made available for users in the Atlanta, Phoenix and Dallas markets before going to other areas.

This means that you can now pay for the rides of a loved one like your children going home from school while you're at work, a stranded friend, or a co-worker or employee running errands, from wherever you are, right from the comfort of your own phone.
Just like it's been said "Family always comes first" and "hey! What are friends for if not for inconveniences". You're Welcome! 😁

This option of course, isn't only for members of your family, but you can also choose to help someone in need who is added to your group in the app. This is nice, although there is a need for trust in this as you bill trips taken by others to your payment card, and so you need to add people who are part of a somewhat trusted circle.
You select contacts to join your family profile (name and mobile number) and then such persons will be able to request rides from their own phones using the Family Profile feature as the method of payment. All they have to do is to accept the email invitation sent to them to get started. You as the payer, whose payment card is on file and is associated with the profile, will receive ride receipts for the persons added to use the Family Profiles payment option.
It allows up to 10 riders to share the payment method.

There is no ETA for the Family Profiles feature to reach other Uber markets but they intend to make it a standard feature on the app.
Uber is available in 58 countries and in 400 cities, worldwide, of course including Abuja and Lagos in Nigeria with Abuja being the most recent launch city.

The Uber experience is one I haven't had an opportunity of having but will let you know when I do. I'll have you know however, that I know someone who has had the experience. So I guess that puts me in the category of those who have heard about it and know someone that knows someone who uses the service. Lol!
All the same, I'm getting me the Uber mobile app and I think that counts.
So, yes, I am a "Uberer" by association. Ha!