Uber appoints Lola Kassim as new GM for West Africa

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Most recently, Kassim worked as a management consultant with McKinsey and Company where she led teams providing strategic business advice and implementing organisational and operational improvements in the energy, public, and financial services sectors in West and Southern Africa.

A seasoned professional with over 10 years of global experience working in senior private sector and government levels in Africa and Canada, Kassim will be responsible for driving Uber's overall strategy for West Africa, which includes improving reliability and service levels for uberX and creating additional value-adds for driver-partners.

"Creating sustainable, alternative modes of mobility"

"I am immensely pleased to be joining Uber at a pivotal point in the company's growth and expansion curve. My vision for West Africa, in particular, is to ensure that we are aligned with Uber's overall objective of creating sustainable, alternative modes of mobility. In addition to creating value for driver-partners and riders, I will also be focused on ensuring that we continue to engage with our key stakeholders and relevant partners with a view to continued positive impact across West Africa," Kassim said.

Speaking on her appointment, Uber's general manager sub-Saharan Africa, Alon Lits, said: "As a company that is deeply committed to diversity and inclusiveness, we are excited to have Lola join the team of other incredible women at Uber - who are pushing the envelope towards achieving the global vision of creating value for riders and driver-partners alike. In West Africa, Lola will be supported by a highly skilled and enthusiastic team covering Operations, Marketing, Communications, Legal and Policy. As we often say at Uber, we are #superpumped."

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Prior to joining Uber, Kassim spent over three years as a management consultant at McKinsey and Company. She also worked as a governance advisor with the Liberian Presidency through the Africa Governance Initiative, supporting a unit driving delivery of presidential infrastructure priorities. She began her career with the Canadian government where she served as policy advisor to senior officials and managed units developing policy, strategy, and business cases regarding socio-economic development programming for Canada's Aboriginal communities and foreign policy.

A Nigerian-Canadian, Kassim holds a Bachelor's degree from Harvard University and an MSc from the London School of Economics, where she was a Chevening Scholar.