Online selling window still unopened in Rwanda
By Daniel Sabiiti Special Correspondent
Posted Saturday, February 8 2014 at 12:12

In Summary
Though e-commerce is still growing in southern Africa, Internet sales
and social marketing are rather new ideas of doing business in Rwanda.
While countries such as Kenya and Uganda have picked up the newest
business trend of buying and selling online, Rwandan firms predict the
country has a long way to go even with the existing access to the best
Internet in the region.
Though e-commerce is still growing in southern Africa, Internet sales
and social marketing are rather new ideas of doing business in Rwanda
and despite the existence of resourceful avenues like e-commerce firms
(local and international), Yahoo! Pages such as Kigali Life and
business advertisements on Facebook.
As businesses grow in Rwanda, there has been a demand for imported
high-end tech gadgets, machinery and general commodities that are not
available locally.
This has seen some firms come into the market to provide the services
despite initiatives by the Ministry of Commerce and the private sector
federations to assist local entrepreneurs to access these goods from
outside.
Among the few such firms that operate in Kigali city are QNET Rwanda,
NetSys Computers Ltd, Duncun & Duncun, Bitcom Network Services Ltd and
BidNetwork.
Education required
"Rwandans have to be educated about this e-business and especially
social marketing. It is not easy to convince someone to buy something
they cannot see and touch. That is true for most Africans, but with
time we hope to make business a new trend of doing business in
Rwanda," said Francis Kamanzi, the Country manager for QNET Rwanda.
In a bid to convince Rwandans to use the Internet for not only reading
and sending e-mails but also doing business online, BidNetwork has
developed and put online an innovative website built entirely in
Kinyarwanda, cyamunara.com.
Other prominent networks that have tried to initiate the online
selling is a Yahoo! Group, Kigali Life, where the "Kigali lifers" (KL)
have turned social networking into a business centre. The group has
more than 10,158 members who post and advertise for free what they
want to sell or share, including experiences and job applications.
The government and Korea Telecoms recently entered a public
partnership that would help Rwanda get high-speed broadband network
and expand its online services capability and in turn help the country
meet its targets in the ICT sector.
READ: Rwanda scores another first in region with 4G rollout
Some of the small business operators in Kigali say buying and selling
goods online is hampered by lack of funds and key players.
But I&M Bank says this is an issue that has been raised by many
clients and it plans to start a new credit window for such business
plans, adding that by the end of the year the new product will have
been launched.
"This is a business trend that we have to study first and see how
feasible it can be, but there is hope since it is under
consideration," said Blaise Gasabira, the head of treasury at I&M.
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/Rwanda/Business/Online-selling-window-still-unopened-in-Rwanda/-/1433224/2197624/-/kqu6t8/-/index.html
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