Cameroon puts brakes on e-hailing platform Yango

Cameroon has suspended Russian ride-hailing app Yango for allegedly failing to comply with the West African country's transport regulations.

According to a statement by Cameroon's Minister of Transport, Jean Ernest Masséna Ngalle, the company's operations have been banned throughout the country.

The app, owned by Russian tech giant Yandex, entered the Cameroonian market in 2021 and has been operating in several cities, Yaounde and Douala among them.

However, in September 2022, the government told the operator to limit access to its digital platform to only vehicles and drivers that are "in good standing," contributing to the promotion of road safety in the country.

The government further urged the company to have all transport documents giving access to its digital platform authenticated beforehand. It seems that the platform didn't heed the warning, hence the current suspension.

Yango is a ride-hailing, delivery, and e-grocery service, that operates in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South America.

A passenger sits in the back of a car operated by an e-hailing company.
(Source: Image by ASphotofamily on Freepik.)

"Public passenger transport activities operated via the Yango digital platform are suspended until they are brought up to standard, in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 2001-015 of July 23, 2001, governing the professions road carrier and road transport auxiliaries," the minister said in a statement.

The country's head of the national taxi drivers' union, Ernest Zena told Reuters that the union met with the minister and threatened to protest if the e-hailing operator continued to operate.

"We also want the government to order the different mobile network operators to block the app from running on their networks," Zena is quoted saying.

Ride-hailing pitfalls in Africa

Ride-hailing platforms in Africa have been facing tough times in recent years.

In Kenya, Uber cut the commission it charges on fares per trip from 25% to 18%, after protest action over high operational costs by drivers, in November 2022.

Something similar happened in Tanzania, but Uber's 25% commission charge was then reinstated in January 2023, by the Land and Transport Regulatory Authority (LATRA), giving the company a green light to resume operations it had halted in April 2022.

According to local publication Minfo, Yango has for the past few years been a bone of contention to most taxi drivers in Cameroon who believe its presence has reduced the number of customers they now have.

This could be the reason why there has been a push for the ride-hailing platform to be suspended.

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*Top image source: Dan Gold on Unsplash .

— Matshepo Sehloho, Associate Editor, Connecting Africa