Uber Signals Return to Morocco with Job Posting in Marrakech

Is Uber’s return to Morocco imminent? Having left the kingdom since 2018, the company is preparing to resume its activities there. The American company has launched recruitment for a country manager position based in Marrakech, one of the kingdom’s flagship tourist destinations. Uber had started its activities in Morocco in 2015, with the opening of a first agency in Casablanca. The company quickly strengthened its presence in the kingdom with a second agency in Rabat. In just three years, it employed 12,000 drivers and had 140,000 customers.

Uber drivers earned a monthly salary between 4,000 and 6,000 dirhams. Despite this success, Uber had to leave Morocco due to the constraining regulatory framework and the difficult coexistence of its drivers with the kingdom’s traditional taxis. After its departure in 2018, the American company nevertheless maintained its presence in the Moroccan market with the acquisition in 2019 of Careem, a competing platform operating in the kingdom and in other Middle Eastern countries.

Uber’s announced return to Morocco comes in a context marked by recurring tensions between ride-hailing services and taxi drivers. Moroccan authorities are working on establishing a regulatory framework for the ride-hailing sector. The state is moving quickly, as we are heading towards an authorization of ride-hailing services before 2030.