Rwanda has witnessed an increased number of e-commerce activities with new digital delivery companies opening up every now and then, mainly driven by growth in internet and mobile penetration rates.
The availability of these electronic services has meant that consumers don’t have to travel distances to access the goods and services that they need.
The development in the e-commerce industry has not, however, translated into wide adoption across the country. These services are largely available in the main capital Kigali with less activity across other parts of the country.
ALSO READ: How Rwanda’s e-commerce sector grew in 2023
Afri-Farmers, which runs an e-commerce platform, is among the few players that operate beyond the capital city. The company connects rural farmers to consumers in cities.
Farmers who have access to feature phones are able to inform Afri-Farmers about their locations, the product they have and if they are ready for harvest, just by the use of a short code.
More than ever, Norman Mugisha, the company’s Founder, says 7,000 rural farmers have access to a steady market, a success they would not have projected four years ago when they started operating.
This is all thanks to e-commerce.
"Although most of our clients are based in Kigali, the fact that local farmers can sell their fresh produce without having to directly travel to the capital says a lot about the power of e-commerce,” Mugisha explains.
The company’s proprietor indicates that scaling digital trade beyond the capital has the power to transform how communities trade and can make it possible for consumers to get products delivered efficiently and timely.
ALSO READ: Inside Rwanda’s fast growing e-commerce industry
Besides Afri-Farmers, E-haho, Vuba Vuba Africa, and Get It Rwanda are other major ecommerce playersoperating across the country.
eHaho connects farmers to service providers of fertilizers, seeds, pesticides, veterinary services, and extension services by enabling product ordering and delivery operations.
Get It Rwanda is a business-to-business firm that provides produce and dry goods delivery services, while Vuba Vuba is an e-commerce company that specializes mainly in food delivery.
Vuba Vuba’s first presence beyond Kigali was in Musanze district three years ago, followed by Rubavu district two years later, and later to Rusizi district. The company attributes this to increased customer awareness.
"We scaled operations to other parts of the country three years ago, but it wasn’t until when we directed more efforts into business and customer education that we started to see traction in purchases,” Leandre Cyiza, the Chief Operating Officer of Vuba Vuba, notes.
Cyiza admits that one of the limitations for e-commerce companies operating in the countryside is lack of consumer demand mainly because the penetration of internet services is still low.
For now, he says, the company will continue to engage in wider marketing campaigns that create awareness and convince clients about the products they sell across the platform.
"In order to expand into those new markets, we think that marketing campaigns play a big role for companies that want to acquire new customers in emerging markets,” Cyiza noted.
ALSO READ: Five measures to boost e-commerce in Rwanda
Jean Premier Bienvenue Rukundo, e-commerce specialist at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, believes lack of limited demand is partly blamed for lack of consumer awareness.
"We should continue to engage in raising awareness about the role that e-commerce plays both at the level of customers and of companies,” he says, adding that the government can introduce initiatives that allow people to acquire affordable devices such as smartphones.
Businesses operating in the countryside suggest that lack of street and house mapping in emerging urban centres makes it hard to accelerate e-commerce activities, especially for business-to-consumer companies that deliver directly to individual customers.