Uganda's 2ambale targets millennials with speedy e-commerce platform

Founded in 2016, the Kampala-based 2ambale offers a marketplace via web and Android app, which allows users to quickly shop from clothing stores and have their goods delivered – apparently within just 60 minutes.

“We provide a quick and convenient solution to shopping for what to wear from clothing stores around a city at no extra cost,” founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Stephen Mutungi told Disrupt Africa.

“Our vision is to build the world’s model virtual wardrobe. We envision a time when one can come into a city with no extra clothes but rely on our platform.”

2ambale, which is self-funded and charges retailers a 10 per cent commission on sales made through the platform, is targeting young corporate employees between the ages of 21 to 35, as well as visitors to Kampala. It is currently taking around 500 orders per month, and hopes to increase that to 1,000 by early next year.

“Kampala is our first and current market. We intend to expand by replicating the same model for cities like Kigali, Nairobi, Mombasa and more across the continent,” Mutungi said.

He said in an age where people were spending long hours at work, there was a need for a platform that allowed people to shop without wasting time.

“We get all these stores on to your phone through a mobile application so that you can shop for what to wear right from your workstation,” said Mutungi.

The same need for convenience is behind the promised one-hour delivery.

“Living in a time where if I have a question I only need to Google to get an answer within minutes, why should I then wait for days just to receive something I’ve ordered from within the same city? This is the reason behind our one-hour deliveries,” he said.

This ambitious promise will either make or break 2ambale, it seems, and how the startup fares will be worth keeping an eye on for other e-commerce businesses in Africa.