East African city Nairobi's tech savvy community and the level of smartphone penetration are some the reasons that app-based transportation network and taxi company, Uber, decided to launch its services there.

Uber is the international smartphone app that 'seamlessly' connects commuters to drivers.

According to leading mobile operator Safaricom Kenya's smartphone penetration rate is 67%.

And research firm BuddeComm says the market penetration rate in Kenya's telecoms sector at the end of 2014 was 76%.

Given the above statistics and the East African nation's progressive nature in technology, it made sense to launch Uber in Nairobi, according to Alastair Curtis, international launcher in Africa.

Curtis told ITWeb Africa that their uberX product was launched in Nairobi on Wednesday.

"We have launched our product in Nairobi," he said.

He added, "The citizens of Nairobi are progressive and tech savvy and in particular love products that are cool and offer a new experience, and Uber is doing just that."

"This new service means that you can now enjoy a seamless, efficient and safe ride at an extremely affordable price," said Curtis.

To kick-start the launch Uber Nairobi has teamed up with local restaurant discovery platform, EatOut, to offer complimentary rides during Nairobi Restaurant Week, which begins on 22 January 2015.

According to Curtis new users who sign up for Uber with the promo will get 2000 Kenyan Shillings (KES) off their first two Uber rides.

Curtis also stated that they are always looking for brands to team up with, so going forward the market can expect some very cool partnerships.

In terms of the pricing model used by Uber Nairobi Curtis told ITWeb Africa that the base fare would be KES 100, KES 4 per minute and KES 60 per kilometre.

The minimum fare is set at KES 500, while the cancellation fee is expected to be KES 300.

To date the Uber network is currently available in over 260 cities across 54 countries and 6 continents.

However, as to which African countries would be next on Uber's expansion plans, Curtis did not reveal further information.

"Uber is an ambitious company and our goal is to be everywhere... We believe in choice and we want the people in Africa to have more choices, watch this space!" he said.

Run-ins with authority

Meanwhile, in Cape Town, South Africa the Uber business has experienced a few run-ins with Cape Town city officials, which has resulted in some of their vehicles being impounded.

To date some 65 Uber taxis have been impounded by Cape Town law officials, reported fin24.com.

According to the report the officials want Uber drivers to apply for metered taxi licences from the Western Cape province's transport department.

Commenting on what would happen if Uber faced issues in Nairobi similar to those in Cape; Curtis said ITWeb Africa "Uber's continued mission is to provide a safe and reliable transport option to riders and greater economic opportunity to drivers."

"Uber is shaking up a market that hasn't seen new entrants in a long, long time.

"Our technology truly brings the sharing economy to the people of Africa and we are changing the way people think about getting around, so this type of disruptive technology is bound to cause resistance where existing structures have not seen any real advancement for many years," said Curtis.