---
title: "Why Easy Taxi shut down"
description: "Brazilian-founded ride-hailing app Easy Taxi, which had expanded into Nigeria and other African markets with $10 million in Rocket Internet backing, announced in April 2016 that it was exiting the entire African market shortly after its Nigerian subsidiary CEO departed, while continuing to operate across Latin America."
canonical_url: "https://liners.com/graveyard/easy-taxi"
markdown_url: "https://liners.com/graveyard/easy-taxi.md"
type: "graveyard"
language: "en"
image: "/graveyard/easy-taxi/certificate.png"
published_at: "2026-07-31T17:41:07.836Z"
updated_at: "2026-07-31T17:41:07.836Z"
---

# Why Easy Taxi shut down

Brazilian-founded ride-hailing app Easy Taxi, which had expanded into Nigeria and other African markets with $10 million in Rocket Internet backing, announced in April 2016 that it was exiting the entire African market shortly after its Nigerian subsidiary CEO departed, while continuing to operate across Latin America.

## Breadcrumbs

- [Graveyard](/graveyard)
- [Easy Taxi](/graveyard/easy-taxi)

## Summary

Here lies Easy Taxi. Backed by Rocket Internet, it carried its ride-hailing app from Brazil into Nigeria and across Africa. When its Nigerian chief left, the parent pulled out of the continent and kept its Latin American routes. It hailed its last African ride.

Brazilian-founded ride-hailing app Easy Taxi, which had expanded into Nigeria and other African markets with $10 million in Rocket Internet backing, announced in April 2016 that it was exiting the entire African market shortly after its Nigerian subsidiary CEO departed, while continuing to operate across Latin America.

## Product history

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Fate | Sunset |
| Primary cause | Competition |
| Stage at shutdown | Growth stage |
| Lifespan in days | 1917 |

## Autopsy report

## What the product attempted

Easy Taxi, a Rocket Internet-backed ride-hailing app originally launched in Brazil in 2011, expanded into Nigeria and other African markets as part of a broader international push into Asia, the Middle East, and Africa funded by a $10 million round from Rocket Internet.

## What worked

Globally, Easy Taxi claimed over 1.5 million app downloads and more than 45,000 drivers across 16 Latin American countries, giving it a stronger competitive position there than in Africa.

## Early warning signs

The departure of Bankole Cardoso, CEO of the Nigerian subsidiary, preceded the announcement of the broader African exit and signaled instability in the regional operation.

## What happened

Easy Taxi entered Nigeria and other African markets with Rocket Internet funding but announced in April 2016 that it was exiting the entire African market shortly after its Nigerian CEO departed; the company retained its stronger Latin American operations, where it competed more effectively against Uber.

## Sources

- [Why is Easy Taxi exiting the African market?](https://techpoint.africa/2016/04/20/easy-taxi-is-exiting-african-market/?ref=startupgraveyard.africa): Techpoint Africa

## Related pages

- [Easy Taxi alternatives](/easy-taxi/alternatives)
- [Liners Graveyard](/graveyard)

## Access and citation

- [Canonical HTML page](https://liners.com/graveyard/easy-taxi)
- [Markdown route index](/sitemap.md)
- [Agent access guide](/llms.txt)