The ‘Women Drivers’ product allows women riders to book rides exclusively with women drivers via the Uber app, expanding economic opportunities for Saudi women while enhancing rider choice. Here’s how the product works:

On-demand – The Women Drivers product allows women riders to be matched with Women Drivers. The product functions just like UberX and is selectable from the product mini-list with similar prices as Uber X.

Reserve – For women riders looking for added structure and planning, they can reserve a ride with a women driver up to 30 minutes in advance through the Uber Reserve feature.

Empowering Saudi women through Al Nahda partnership and GigSister events

Uber is proud to announce its partnership with Alnahda Society, a leading non-profit organization established in 1962 with a mission to empower women both economically and socially. This collaboration aims to support women in mobility through capacity-building initiatives, including financial literacy programs, by equipping women with essential skills.

Additionally, Uber will host its first GigSister program in Saudi Arabia, creating a dedicated space for women drivers to connect, share experiences, and foster a supportive local community. These initiatives highlight how Uber is going beyond mobility to actively invest in the development and success of women across the Kingdom.

Over the years, Uber has introduced a series of programs in Saudi Arabia, from the Wusool initiative, which has supported over 20 million subsidized rides for women, to Women Rider Preference, which allows women drivers to choose if they want to exclusively pick-up women riders.

According to a sheet that went viral, the employees within the Middle East and North Africa region has worked in various roles including but not limited to marketing managers, brand managers, campaign managers, strategies and editorial related roles. An ex-Uber employee created the spreadsheet that went viral. The sheet shows the names, years of experiences and qualifications of the laid off employees. Communicate did not verify the authenticity of this sheet.

The layoffs are seen as the second shake up move after the company went public in May, said the NYTimes.

CNN has reported that the Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in an email  “we are not making these changes because Marketing has become less important to Uber. The exact opposite is true: we are making these changes because presenting a powerful, unified, and dynamic vision to the world has never been more important.”  Khosrowshahi  said that the layoffs aims to help the company make better decisions. He said in the email to CNN “Many of our teams are too big, which creates overlapping work, makes for unclear decision owners, and can lead to mediocre results.”

Earlier in June, Chief Marketing Officer, Rebecca Messina has left her job, only after nine months. The NYTimes reported that her role was eliminated. The NYTimes also reported that in last week, two board members stepped down namely: Arianna Huffington and Matt Cohler.

Uber is set to report on its second quarter earning on August 8th. It was reported a loss of more than $1 billion in the first quarter. The company acquired Dubai based Careem for a “$3.1 billion, consisting of $1.7 billion in convertible notes and $1.4 billion in cash.” The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020.

And that raises the question of where local audiences are watching it.

Thanks to a new deal the answer might very well be in an Uber.

READ: 74% of digital video budgets are being wasted on this format

Uber has launched its #UberFanVan campaign that allows users to call for an Uber “Fan Van” ahead of a game. Uber will pick one winner every day who, along with two friends, get to live what Uber is calling the “the ultimate match experience”. The van is equipped with a 48-inch TV, food from Uber Eats, a PS4 with football games for half-time and “other awesome swag and footie goodies.”

[Tweet “Would you rather… watch the #WorldCup at home, outside or in an #UberFanVan?”]

Uber is known to unveil special offers such as this on occasions such as Valentine’s Day, for instance. However, with 65 percent GCC residents saying they’d prefer to watch the matches at home – theirs or a friend’s – and with the myriad events and offers at venues around Dubai, it’s unclear how popular the Fan Van will turn out to be.

Various multinational agencies participated in this pitch process.

Sasan Saeidi, managing director of FP7 UAE Group, says: “Uber is a pioneer brand and they have been game changers in everything they have done till date. We had a lot of fun with the brief we received and the work we created was very breakthrough and smart. I believe the clients felt that way too. It’s amazing to be partnering with this superb brand, and we hope this launch campaign will be the start of many others ones to come.

Commenting on behalf of Uber, Nada Zagallai, head of marketing for the Middle East “Working with FP7 has been seamless. The energetic, professional and enthusiastic team impressed us with an incredible creative executed with impeccable quality. We’re so excited to see it all come to life with their support.”FP7

As a result of the new introduction, customers searching through the App will now see an Uber icon on the screen. Registered Uber users will be able to click on the icon and request an Uber ride, choose a car type, and view the estimated time of arrival directly and seamlessly through the Entertainer App. The new feature also means that the drivers will know exactly where they are heading.

“We’ve always prioritized our customers, aiming to provide them with a top-notch, unique user experience through the Entertainer App – and an international transportation partner was the logical next step in our quest to evolve our offering,” says David Ashford, e-business and information director for the Entertainer, in a press statement. “With Uber’s API, we are transcending the limitations of a single App by providing an enriched and simplified experience that will allow residents at home and abroad to do more all within the Entertainer’s platform.”

“As consumers demand more from their personal technology applications it is important for organizations to work together in order to provide a more innovative offering. Our partnership with The Entertainer is a great example of how our shareable digital infrastructure (API system) can help businesses evolve their service, making life simpler and more convenient for users,” says Jean-Pierre Mondalek, general manager of Uber UAE.

The Entertainer App also offers users a host of other user-friendly features such as a simple PIN-based redemption, location-based search where users can find outlets and offers closest to them, and a savings calculator which tracks savings made using the Entertainer offers. The App is free to download for Apple, Android, Blackberry 10 and Windows phones.

UAE users of the private tax on demand app, Uber were in for a ride of lifetime as the app that connects riders and drivers collaborated with supercar manufacturer, McLaren Automotive, to offer test drives on demand.

In a world’s first to showcase the McLaren 650S, and the way in which Uber technology could offer test drives at a push of a button; the two brands worked to give riders an opportunity to request their 650S drive via the Uber smartphone app in Dubai on Saturday December 6, 2014.

The users however were unaware that the cars were fitted with a camera capturing their reaction, resulting in the below video.