Online start-up Minute 5 introduces market day

It's one and a half years since Paul Katumba and his business partners started Minute 5, a local online retailer of groceries that is looking at being the game-changer in the way we buy groceries in Kampala and Uganda at large.

In a bid to consolidate their growing presence in the fresh food trade chain from the garden to the final consumer, Minute 5 has introduced a market day every last day of the month that will cross over into the first day of the new month.

According to the grocer's CEO Paul Katumba, this market day is meant to allow small scale farmers to reach buyers of produce directly while giving customers the best possible prices and discounts on the market.

It will run for an initial period of 6 months and during this time data will also be collected on consumer trends and preferences which will later be used to improve the services offered by the company.

The Challenge
Suppliers of high-quality products remain scarce in this market and one of the intentions of this monthly market day is to onboard as many by giving them a platform and good prices especially for the small scale farmers.

This will also help Minute 5 build a reliable database of suppliers and facilitate business Sustainability going forward.

Projections
With over $15,000 (about sh54m) invested in the business, the company is looking at serving all the 1.3 million residents of Kampala as customers with in the next 5 years.

To make this possible they have expanded taking on new suppliers and grocers in Kyaliwajala, Buwate, Kiwatule, Najeera, Kansanga, and Bunga markets.

"This move is also geared at reducing the logistical constraints involved in making deliveries to customers in those neighbourhoods since they now have suppliers strategically positioned nearby," Katumba says.

With customers now able to make purchases through their website www.minute5.ug, through their social media handles and on the Xente app, one can conveniently make payments through visa, MasterCard, Airtel, and mobile money among other platforms to have your groceries delivered promptly.

According to Minute 5 CEO Paul Katumba, they expect a 200% growth in customers over the next 6 months resulting from these undertakings.