The E — commerce industry globally has seen remarkable growth over the years and Rwanda is no exception, thanks to the growing internet and smartphone adoption in part and the rise in consumer awareness.
Every now and then, new electronic commerce delivery services are born across the City of Kigali, and existing ones are exploring new avenues to expand beyond the main capital due to the growing demand for such services.
Vuba Vuba Africa, one of the leading e-commerce delivery companies in Rwanda, for instance, has scaled operations, expanding footprint to Musanze, Rubavu, and Rusizi districts in the Northern and Western provinces.
Regional players such as Kenya's e-commerce firm Wasoko and digital addressing and logistics startup MPost have opened shop in Rwanda, a sign of confidence that non-Rwandan businesses have in the local market.
Pappy Biganza whose e-commerce business launched in 2022 sees growing potential specifically for the business-to-business segment.
"Twenty-five per cent of Rwanda's pharmacies are in rural areas and 75% of them are in our country's urban areas. We occasionally receive orders from rural pharmacies that need medication to sell to their clients," he says.
Biganza is the owner of Afia Pharma, an online pharmacy that seeks to democratize access to reliable, reasonably priced prescription drugs. He argues that the business-to-business model has potential to increase sales and revenues as opposed to business-to-consumer model.
"We have seen our revenue growing by 5 per cent annually in 2023 as a result of operating this kind of business model as a result of increased deliveries to businesses across the country," he notes.
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Murukali is another popular e-commerce platform in Rwanda that delivers products locally and internationally. The brain behind the platform is Yvette Uwimpaye who says his turnover merely grew 5 per cent when she started out.
"Last year was different. We registered increased business especially from overseas clients. In total, we saw a 12 per cent growth in revenue in 2023," she notes, adding that that wasn't always the case.
"I had fewer clients when I first started operating, but we saw demand increasing at the height of the pandemic. That Covid-driven demand started declining until last year when we invested in heavy advertising. Eventually, we saw demand from foreign clients boosting our business," she adds.
Currently, the airline, hotel, banking, food delivery, and courier services industries account for the majority of business-to-consumer trade. And some of the e-commerce ventures have been pivoting into business to business from business to customers.
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According to Jean Premier Bienvenue Rukundo, e-commerce specialist at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, anincrease in user base across platforms and number of players entering online retail space are signs ofgrowing e-commerce.
The growing e-commerce adoption, he says, comes with endless possibilities for businesses and to the economy.
"E-commerce presents potential for businesses to access wider markets that otherwise wouldn't have been accessed without the use of technology. With e-commerce, companies can operate cost-effectively and compete to offer innovative and affordable products and services," he weighs in.
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However, Rukundo emphasizes the need for e-commerce businesses to adopt and adhere to global best practices if they are to compete internationally.
At the moment, 13 e-commerce platforms in January 2023, 29 in November 2023, and 31 in March 2024 were the number of platforms bearing the Trust Seal Mark.
The Digital Business Institute of the Rwanda ICT Chamber offers the Trust Seal, a symbol of confidence for customers of e-commerce companies.
ALSO READ: Five measures to boost e-commerce in Rwanda
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)'s 2018 B2C E-commerce Index, Rwanda's e-commerce is ranked 19th out of 44 in Africa and 116th out of 151 worldwide.
