ECA files complaint to Prosecutor General against Uber
The Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) has reportedly filed a complaint against Uber with the Prosecutor General for allegedly failing to cooperate with an investigation into an antitrust complaint filed by rival ride-hailing apps, Al Borsa reports. The ECA has not yet found that Uber violated anti-trust regulations. Instead, the ECA’s complaint to prosecutors was that Uber allegedly failed to documents necessary to the investigation, ECA head Mona El Garf is reported to have said. Uber Egypt representatives have not commented on the development. A complaint to the competition authority by Uber rivals Ousta and Careem, filed last December, alleges that Uber engaged in monopolistic practices when it did not raise fares and temporarily stopped charging its drivers a 20% service fee through the end of January 2017.
The development comes only a week after a visit to Egypt by Uber’s Chief Business Officer, Emil Michael, during which he called Egypt the “new Silicon Valley.” “The Egyptian entrepreneurship ecosystem is the perfect test market for many types of new products and services at the forefront of technology. And the unique combination of history, resources, and people in Egypt makes us keen to keep investing in the Egyptian market.” said Michael during a fireside chat at RiseUp. He had also met with Investment and International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr and Transportation Minister Hisham Arafat, according to a statement from the company. The company says it “creates over 50,000 work opportunities for drivers each month in Egypt.”