For Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, India holds the key: 'If we can succeed here, we can succeed anywhere'

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said, “India is one of the toughest markets out there; they are so demanding and do not pay for anything.”

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that India is one of the most challenging markets for growth during a chat with Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani in Bengaluru. Acknowledging the difficulties that his company faces, Dara Khosrowshahi said, "India is one of the toughest markets out there; they are so demanding and do not pay for anything. If we can succeed here, we can succeed anywhere else."

Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO, is seen. (AFP)

But the company plans to expand its low-cost service segments -- two-wheeler and three-wheeler services in India -- he said.

Uber's road map

"One of the strategic single biggest opportunity is lower cost products like two-wheeler and three-wheeler... We are also getting into bus in some countries," Dara Khosrowshahi stated.

Uber had to make some difficult decisions, including layoffs, he said, adding, “We were much focused on consumers and we took drivers for granted but post-pandemic we had to focus on our drivers. So we changed and offered them more incentives.”

The company recently inked an MoU in a bid to explore the Open Network for Digital Commerce to standardise online transactions and finance. Uber's potential membership could boost India’s ambitions to build a complete digital infrastructure to support what it envisions will be rapid growth of the online economy.

Along with a boost to online economy, it would also explore Aadhaar program and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Built from the ground up with open protocols, the idea is to allow startups, domestic companies and global corporations to operate on a level playing field.

Uber posted its first annual net profit last year nothing that free cash flow of $3.4 billion was seen in 2023, up from $390 million a year ago while Uber India reported consolidated revenue of ₹2,666 crore in FY23- an increase of 74 per cent compared to the previous fiscal, it said. At the time, the ride-hailing company said that it expects gross bookings growth in the mid to high teens percentage.