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2020 Top10 Finalist

In the article below, we sat down with Albert Munyabugingo, the Founder & CEO of Vuba Vuba.. Albert, who previously worked as the Rwanda Country Manager of Jumia, is building Vuba Vuba to be an innovative logistics’ arm that meets the needs of his community. Albert is also a 2023 Africa’s Business Heroes Top 10 finalist. He most recently had a chance to engage with Cainiao, Alibaba Group’s logistics company during ABH’s China immersion and exchange program. In this piece, he shares his learnings from that engagement as well as his reflections on Africa’s logistics sector. 

  1. Could you share with us what Vuba Vuba does and what problem you’re primarily solving in Rwanda?

    Vuba Vuba is an on-demand delivery service, and we provide a platform that connects customers with local restaurants and shops, enabling them to order food and other products for home delivery. We also have a mobile app that since 2020 has been bridging the shopping gap between buyers and sellers in Rwanda. We have over 600 merchants on our mobile app and we support them with last-mile delivery. Since the company began, we have created jobs for more than 150 delivery riders and we have hired a staff of 100 people.

Vuba Vuba rider en-route to deliver a package

  1. What opportunities and challenges would you say are still prevalent in the logistics space in Rwanda and in Africa?

    It is an exciting time to be in tech and build products that leverage technology to solve real-life problems. There are plenty of opportunities and challenges, as one can imagine.

    Below are some challenges I would name:

    • High costs associated with transportation, warehousing, and other logistics operations can affect profitability.
    • Inconsistent infrastructure in some areas can hinder efficient delivery operations.
    • The level of literacy for buyers and sellers and the adoption of e-commerce in general since this is still a new era.

    These challenges are problems we are collaborating with other industry players to solve because we still believe there are great opportunities in this sector. Below are a few opportunities I would name: 

    • The rise of internet penetration and online shopping creates a crucial demand for reliable delivery services such as Vuba Vuba.
    • Increasing urban populations need strong logistics networks for the delivery of goods, which contributes to the growth of the sector.
    • Many African governments are investing in infrastructure and creating policies that support the growth of e-commerce and logistics sectors.

  1. What are you primarily focused on as a business at this time?

    We are focused on enhancing our services and improving customer experience in the countries we operate in. This stems from our internal guiding principles, which assert that the best marketing strategy lies in having strong and efficient operations. We would also like to target the African Diaspora across the globe to leverage their relatively increased purchasing power and familiarity with digital products. Some of the new products we are working on are:

    • Vuba Wallet: this product allows customers to top up funds on their wallet, providing them with a convenient and efficient payment method for orders. It is mostly considered a gift shop, especially for the diaspora population that is interested in giving back to their families in Africa.
    • Vuba Prime: the subscription service offers free delivery on all orders incentivizing customer loyalty and increasing order frequency.

  1. You were recently in Hangzhou, China with the other Top 10 heroes, what were you looking forward to on that trip?

    During my trip to Hangzhou, I was mainly looking at three things.

    • Connecting with fellow Africa’s Business Heroes: I believe the best partnerships come from entrepreneurs themselves since we understand the struggle and the Africa market more than anyone.
    • Learning from Alibaba Group’s Journey: for Alibaba Group to be a tech giant in just 25 years is impressive and it is a story that all founders everywhere can learn from. I was excited to learn from various business units and learn both the soft and technical lessons that could be passed on in the period we had.
    • Explore Partnership Opportunity: One of my goals was to explore how to forge long-lasting partnerships between Alibaba to connect Chinese buyers and sellers to their counterparts in Africa

Albert Munyabugingo interacting with Alibaba Group’s e-commerce teams  

  1. You were particularly interested in one of Alibaba Group’s businesses called Cainiao. Could you share with us what they do and what you learned from their business model?

    Cainiao is one of the largest providers of cross-border e-commerce logistics globally, operating the world’s largest network of cross-border warehouses dedicated to e-commerce. provides a wide array of innovative logistics solutions in China and around the world, and has established a smart logistics network on a global scale. I was very interested to learn from them because mastering logistics is the key to succeeding in e-commerce. I learned that if Vuba Vuba is able to secure adequate capital, we should ideally build our own in-house solution.

  1. What are you looking forward to implementing in your own business that you learn from Cainiao?

    Cainiao has done an amazing job in the logistics and last-mile space, which is an area most of us are still figuring out. Having all parcels in China delivered within 48 hours with an aim of 24 hours is just unbelievable. There are several lessons I learned including automation to speed up processes and setting clear, achievable, and measurable targets in a short period of time. 

  1. Is there any business partnership that was forged from your time in China?

    We are still in conversation about different partnerships, and there are definitely some big announcements to come in the next few weeks. I am very appreciative that Alibaba Group is open to exploring collaborations with startups like ours.

  1. What else did you learn from the trip (either from the Heroes or from the different visits), which you look forward to incorporating in your business?

    We had Hero-to-Hero sessions where Heroes who raised funding from the venture capital world shared a realistic picture of what investors are looking for and what the journey entails. I learned a lot about good and bad investment deals from my fellow founders. This was particularly timely as Vuba Vuba is preparing to embark on a fundraising journey. I now feel more ready than ever!

    I also learned a lot from the 11. 11 story. It taught me that we should not be afraid of big moves to test the market but rather go for them and improve on a daily basis.

  1. You are becoming a seasoned entrepreneur who can contribute a lot to entrepreneurs who are just starting their businesses. What three things would share with anyone who is venturing into entrepreneurship?

    I will share my advice very concisely. These are three things I would share: 

    • Wisely choose your co-founder- who you partner with can make and break your business
    • First build before you raise- build an investable business before rushing to raise money. Capital will not fix structural issues in a business and it is important to build a strong foundation before raising external funds.
    • In the first 5 years, work as closely to your team as you can - your hands-on input has the biggest ROI in the first couple of years. There is also a lot to observe that informs how you shape the business.

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