Bolt has appointed Takura Malaba as its new Regional Manager for East and Southern Africa effective Jan 1 2023.

The new appointee takes over from Kenneth Micah who took over the helm in 2019.

According to Bolt Rides Vice President Paddy Partridge, Malaba is expected to drive the firm’s operation activities in the region as well as expand its footprint in the region.

“Since joining the business in 2021, he has done an excellent job in leading the South African market. He has steered the business, and defended it against stiff competition, driven strong growth despite a difficult macro-economic environment and effectively managed costs,” he said.

Further, he said that Malaba has also been instrumental in making significant progress in improving the safety and quality of our platform in the country.

“ I am confident he will continue to do a great job in this new role,” he added.

Malaba joined the tech company in November 2021, as the Country Manager for ride-hailing in South Africa, where he was responsible for strategy and operations.

Before joining Bolt, he was a data science manager at Deloitte, where he focused on strategy, cloud and machine learning design and implementation.

Malaba said that his priority will be to continue growing the business in the region by championing Bolt’s value propositions that focus on affordability, safety and sustainability.

“I believe in working collaboratively with my colleagues, partners, and stakeholders to achieve results, and I look forward to using my skills and expertise to contribute to Bolt's success and to make a positive impact in this region," he said.

Bolt is an on-demand mobility platform in Europe and Africa with over 100 million customers in over 45 countries.