Uber reaffirmed its commitment to contribute to the economic development of Mexico. The Technology Company aims to create 500 thousand flexible self-employment opportunities by December 2018. After almost 4 years of operations in the country, Uber Mexico today has 220,000 active drivers, thus it intends to double the number within only 18 months.

Uber confirmed that it has invested 2,300 million pesos in Mexico, and to reach its goal it will invest another 6,800 million pesos during all of 2017 and 2018. This amount considers promotions for driver-partners, promotions for riders , continuous support of the application, recruitment of direct employees, as well as expansion of its offices and service centers to partners throughout the country, among others.

The company will work with allies from the public and private sector to jointly assist in the country’s economic growth. Among the allies, there are state authorities and institutions to support the development of inclusive mobility regulations such as the case of the State of Mexico and Puebla, which bring the opportunities for self-employment closer to more people; financial institutions, car dealers and manufacturers that facilitate the opportunity to own a car to more driver-partners, such as Nissan that agreed to offer a discount of approximately 7% to our partners on some car models; and NGOs that seek to bring self-employment opportunities closer to those with limited options, such as migrants and refugees.

“We firmly believe in the potential of Mexico – the first country we arrived to in Latin America – so we are committed to its economic development. As part of our commitment, we will work to provide more self-employment opportunities to more people, which will help them earn extra earnings and improve their quality of life”, said Federico Ranero, General Director of Uber Mexico and Uber Caribbean.

“Uber hasn’t only improved mobility of cities, it has also generated economic and development opportunities for the country by offering self-employment opportunities”, confirmed José Rogelio Garza Garza, Subsecretary of Industry and Commerce.

As part of the commitment to reach 500 thousand economic opportunities, Uber will start operations in at least 10 new more cities and will open 10 support centers in Mexico by December 2018.

The company also reaffirms its dedication to improving its application to ensure that the Uber app is considered a flexible opportunity for self-employment for all. Therefore, it will implement in the following months new security functions that benefit its driver-partners and riders.

The event was attended by leaders such as Gustavo de Hoyos, National President of COPARMEX, as well as Luis Wertman, President of Red Nacional de Consejos Ciudadanos de México A.C. and Mexico City Consejo Ciudadano.