Didi extends reach to Europe and Africa with Taxify partnership

China’s ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing announced today a strategic partnership with Taxify, a leading ridesharing company in Europe and Africa.

Under this partnership, Didi will invest in and collaborate with Taxify, according to a company statement. But the firm did not disclose the specific amount involved. Taxify will utilize the funding to expand its presence in core markets in Europe and Africa, the statement noted.

Launched in Estonia in 2013, Taxify is the fastest-growing ride-hailing company in Europe and Africa, offering taxi- and private car-hailing services to over 2.5 million users in major hubs across 18 countries, including Hungary, Romania, the Baltic States, South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya.

The tie-up marks a new addition to Didi’s anti-Uber alliance along its global expansion initiative, only that the new deal spread the rival geographically to new markets in Africa and Europe.

“We’re definitely going global,” said Didi Chuxing president Jean Liu in a previous interview. And the company is moving fast towards that direction, each partner/region at a time. Didi invested 100 million USD in Lyft, Uber’s main competitor in the U.S. market, in September 2015. The battle has also expanded to Southeast Asia through investments in Ola and Grab and to Brazil through investment in local ride-hailing leader 99.

Cheng Wei, founder and CEO of Didi Chuxing, said: “Taxify provides innovative, high-quality mobility services across many diverse markets. We share a strong commitment to harnessing the power of mobile technology to satisfying rapidly evolving consumer demands and revitalizing traditional transportation industry. I believe this partnership will contribute to cross-regional smart transportation linkages between Asian, European and African markets.”

According to data from the company, Didi offers now provides service to over 400 million users in more than 400 cities.