On any given day, you can have food, groceries, and flowers delivered to your doorstep from the comfort of your own home. Rwanda’s Vuba Vuba has made this possible. And, unlike most tech initiatives, this is not only available to city dwellers, but also to people from other parts of the country. Vuba Vuba, which loosely translates to doing something quickly, is a local delivery company that arose when Rwanda, like the rest of the world, was dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. ALSO READ: Vuba Vuba takes food delivery service to Musanze The timely concept arrived at a time when Rwandans had no choice but to look for other ways to meet their needs without having to leave their homes during the Covid-19 lockdowns. ALSO READ: Five business lessons to learn from Covid-19 pandemic It's worth noting that, despite having had an edge in the local market because it launched at a time when Jumia Food, Rwanda's only food delivery service at the time, was exiting the market, Vuba Vuba Africa and Rwandans have come a long way together. Three years of operation Now, as Vuba Vuba Africa celebrates its three-year anniversary, Albert Munyabugingo and Innocent Kaneza, co-founders of what has become a 'favorite' for many, reflect on their journey. ALSO READ: Former Jumia staff sets up food delivery services Munyabugingo, who had been Jumia Food's Managing Director, went on to form a local team, taking the local context into account and returned to the business of delivering food from all restaurants in Kigali to clients' doorsteps. They were also delivering daily essentials from supermarkets to homes under its supermarket category, and drinks, beverages, and party-related items under its liquor store category. All are accessible through the company's mobile app, Vuba Vuba, which is available for free on the Google Play Store for Android users and the App Store for iOS users. Orders are usually delivered within 30 to 40 minutes, with a transport fee of Rwf1000-Rwf1500 in most areas of Kigali. When I think back to when we first started, I believe Rwandans were very open to the idea of online stores and delivery services. People continued to embrace e-commerce culture even after the pandemic, Kaneza explained. Kaneza appreciated Rwandans' growing faith in Vuba Vuba's services. 90% of our orders are pre-paid, he said, whereas the majority of orders in other countries are paid after delivery. “This proves that people trust our services, but it also increases the use of the cashless economy due to online payments,” he added. Vuba Vuba's services have since expanded to Musanze and Rubavu districts, two of the major urban areas outside Kigali. Musanze and Rubavu were well-prepared to accommodate e-commerce operations, thanks to all the infrastructure put in place by the government. And we look forward to expanding into new areas both within and outside of the country, Munyabugingo said. Going forward Kaneza and Munyabugingo agree that improvements in profitability, adaptability, and accessibility have already been observed over the last three years. The adoption of cashless payments used to be the most difficult challenge we faced. And when we first started, the technical side of our business was also not very developed. But, as our clients, we are also constantly improving,” Kaneza said. We celebrate our over 35,000 active users. But we call on more to come on board because this is an even better time to work with us. Not only is it becoming increasingly necessary to use e-commerce platforms, but it also saves time as we go about our daily tasks,” Munyabugingo stated. Vuba Vuba Africa is working to become a one-stop shop for a variety of additional services.
