This article was written in 2014. Since then, many things have changed in the e-commerce sector since then. Some of the stores mentioned below since closed shop or have seen some kind of transition into another product or brand. Below is the old article with a few edits. Read the UPDATED ARTICLE
You would think that Online shopping is a recent thing in Uganda that has become popular overnight which actually isn’t true. Online shopping in Uganda has been on a long and tough journey dating back to at least 8 years ago. All you have to do is Google “Online shopping in Uganda” and you will see many websites that attempted to engage in e-commerce in Uganda. Even Googling doesn’t do it justice; there are many other sites that tried and failed that Google will not show you. e-commerce and Online shopping have their own challenges and until those are overcome, the costs of entry into the e-commerce business will be very high and prohibitive not to mention the costs of operation. Recently, Africa internet Holding/Rocket Internet Group injected considerable funding into multiple e-commerce startups across the Continent. We have seen the likes of Hellofood, Jumia, Kaymu launch in Uganda under Rocket Internet. Locally we know of TakeAwayUG, Home DUUKA, Shop 24/7 among others. Amidst all the skepticism, there are those who are braving the challenges by innovating and adapting. Below we show you in no particular order, 10 Online shopping Sites in Uganda that will help you get started.
#1. Kaymu (Merged with Jumia)
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#2. Jumia
With probably more experience in the e-commerce and online shopping arena, Jumia operates in 6 African countries with a lot of documented success in Nigeria. They recently opened up shop in Uganda and are also fully functional. With an easy to navigate website. Aspiring to be your one stop online retailer, Jumia offers a wide selection of products including but not limited to electronics, fashion items, home appliances and many more. They also have a dedicated Android App to help you shop while on your phone. To begin shopping on Jumia, this will help it includes how to and the links to their SOcial Media Pages and Android App.
#3. Hellofood (Now Jumia Food)
Hellofood the global food delivery chain also opened up shop in Uganda early this year with one mission; to make it easier for you to get your favorite dish from your favorite restaurant without leaving your home or desk. We first wrote about them and later met the managing director for an interview about the service and how it works. We also used the service and we were satisfied with it.
Odukar store
Odukar store is a niche online store dedicated to quality electronics at affordable prices. The store launched in early 2020 just before Covid-19 and is seeing steady growth. At time of launch, they have a great assortment of mobile accessories such as USB Charging cables, iPhone lightning cable, USB wall chargers, HDMI cables, Car chargers and phone holders. You can get all these at price point below Ugx 100,000. Check them out here.
#4. Home DUUKA (Closed Shop)
Think of them as an online supermarket with a lot of what you need from fresh produce, groceries, health and beauty products to fresh Beef, Chicken, Goat and even fish. We first learnt of them earlier this year. They are fully functional business that uses a pool of local vendors to bring to you a variety of products which you can order online on their website and the products are delivered to you in the comfort of your home or workplace. They use a network of delivery agents to efficiently get the products to the customers. Unfortunately they have few listing compared to the competition.
#5. TakewayUG (Closed Shop)
TakeAway UG is part of the HomeDuuka Group and is your online food delivery service. They have 11 major restaurants in town listed including the The Bistro, Prunes and The Soundcup. To order, one has to quickly set up an account that helps them capture the customer’s’ billing address and contacts. However, TakeAwayUG has a minimum purchase requirement of 20,000 Ugx and will not process your order if its any less. They have payment options of Cash On delivery and Mobile Money among others.
#6. Eyetrade
EyeTrade has been around for a while and are one of those people who stuck to E-commerce way before we had any infrastructure to fully support it as a business. Think of them as a Ugandan “Craigslist”; They do classified ads harnessing the power of community to help people buy and sell whatever they want. They have multiple categories and wide variety of products to choose from including but not limited to Real Estate, Agriculture, automobiles and electronics. In their own words, “we connect sellers with buyers for free. If you’ve got something you want to sell in Uganda, you can advertise it FOR FREE right here on our web site. If you are looking to buy something in Uganda, you can search through all items and contact the seller FOR FREE.”
#7. Shop 24/7 (Closed Shop)
Shop 24/7 is another online supermarket that seems to be as big as they claim. We haven’t used them yet but checking out their website, we meet a fully functional e-commerce site that allows you to easily shop online. There is lots of products listed and lots of payment options. We will be contacting them for an interview and we will keep you posted.
#8. Dondolo Shop
Dondolo is all about mobile phones and accessories. Even though they have other categories, unfortunately nothing is listed on them. They however have a good repository of refurbished and new smartphones that many would be interested in. One thing we don’t like is that they list items in dollars instead of shillings but other than that, they are functional and have an offline shop in town.
#9. ZIDI (Closed Shop)
Zidi is another e-commerce portal, enabling individuals, small business and companies to find buy & sell their products and services online. They seem to be new and have few products listed but they are also operational and have a fully functional website.
#10. Paple Rayn Store
This is the most recent in the Ugandan e-commerce sphere. Previously operating on Facebook, Paple Rayn has no physical location and only shows off its products on Social Media letting people make orders online that are delivered after contacting the buyers. They recently launched their independent online shopping platform for all things fashion. The platform allows shoppers to browse through a variety of fashion items for both women and men with multiple international brands to select from. These are the Top 10 functional e-commerce sites among the many that we have come across in Uganda that are driving and growing the e-commerce sector. If you know any others that we don’t know, please let us know in the comments
Defunct Ugandan Shopping Websites
image: moneycrashers.com
