Yango Africa, an internation­al technology company, has announced plans to expand its operations to more African coun­tries as part of its global growth strategy.

Currently operating in 30 countries worldwide, the ride-hailing giant is present in 13 African markets including Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa.

The Public Relations Manag­er of Yango Africa, Mr Bennet Otoo, disclosed this during an interaction with some select­ed journalists on Monday said Ghana played a special role in the company’s African story.

“Yango’s Africa journey began in Côte d’Ivoire in 2018, and Ghana became the second African market a year later. Since then, we have been proud of our contribution to mobility and dig­ital innovation in this country,” he said.

Mr Otoo explained that Yango had been active in Ghana since 2019 and operates in Accra.

He disclosed that a pilot had been conducted in Kumasi as part of efforts to expand to other Ghanaian cities.

“As part of our expansion strategy, we will soon be an­nouncing something very import­ant in Ghana. The idea is to make safe, affordable and reliable mo­bility accessible to more people and at the same time create more income-generating opportunities for our partners,” he added.

Addressing misconceptions about the company, Mr Otoo clarified that Yango was neither a Russian nor a Chinese company.

“Our global headquarters is in Dubai. We are an international technology company offering more than 10 different services beyond ride-hailing, including delivery, e-commerce, music and video streaming, and cloud services,” he said.

He explained that Yango operated as a digital platform connecting passengers with inde­pendent transport companies and drivers, rather than owning cars or directly employing drivers.

“This model creates business opportunities for local entre­preneurs and Small and Medi­um-Scale Enterprises who can invest in fleets, employ drivers, and become our partners. It stimulates job creation and helps grow local businesses while al­lowing us to focus on technology, safety and innovation,” Mr Otoo said.

On safety, he stressed that it was an “absolute priority” for the company and outlined measures such as verified drivers and vehicles, trip-sharing options, real-time incident management, and alerts for high-risk areas.

“We also organise regular safety awareness programmes, driver health checks, and road safety campaigns. For passengers, we provide education on using safety features available in the app,” he said.

Mr Otoo further highlight­ed Yango’s social impact pro­grammes in Ghana, which the company describes as “impact activities” rather than corporate social responsibility.

“These include hackathons, free IT training, and educational support for drivers’ children. In other markets, we have intro­duced the Yango Fellowship, which provides scholarships and resources for students. We are looking forward to rolling out similar initiatives here,” he said.