Rwanda's Vuba Vuba launches to fill the gap left by Jumia Food

 Vuba Vuba Africa, a new online food ordering and delivery platform has launched in Rwanda to fill the gap left by Jumia Food which shut operations in Kigali, Rwanda in December 2019.

Vuba Vuba Africa is going to be the only such platform in Kigali, Rwanda as its competition SafeMotos just announced it has shut shop in the country due to lack of funding.

The firm is being run by Albert Munyabugingo, former MD Jumia Food with a team of staff from his employer Jumia Food. The startup as retained about 80 percent of Jumia staff ad riders in Kigali.

The firm will pick orders from residents in Kigali and deliver food from major restaurants delivering both food and groceries from supermarkets and Liquor stores to users’ homes and offices.

Available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, Vuba Vuba aims to help businesses, restaurants, hotels and supermarkets increase their sales as well as their marketing efforts through the app. The startup will also release payments frequently to its vendors to avoid cash flow problems caused by delayed settlements.

Though Jumia Food left the Rwanda market, the founder says the market is ripe for eCommerce and food delivery but the Jumia needed bigger margins to make its model and operations sustainable and the firm was also closing to focus on its major markets. Tanzania and Cameroon were also affected by the closures.

With the launch of Vuva Vuva, there will be no gap left by Jumia Food, which permanently closed shop in Rwanda by January 9th, 2020. Vuba Vuba Africa started operating in Rwanda on January 1st, 2020.

Jumia is banking on its marketplace, payment platform and infrastructure network to boost revenue on its path to profitability. Jumia, which hit a peak value of close to $4 billion, has seen its shares fall by nearly 70% since its IPO last April. Its third-quarter adjusted EBITDA loss widened to 45 million euros, up nearly 27% from a year earlier, and as it burned through cash, analysts warned that raising more could be a challenge.

Jumia says its online payment platform, Jumia and its logistics network will be made available to third-parties, even those not selling on its e-commerce platform as part of its growth plans.

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