I often smile when I think back to how I started my entrepreneurial journey. In 2009, I was a student at Makerere University when a friend invited me to a GNLD presentation. The presentation was about nutritional supplements and an opportunity to earn commissions by becoming a distributor of the products. Like many university students, I was searching for ways to earn an income while pursuing my studies, so the opportunity immediately caught my attention. I also saw a genuine need for the products. My father was struggling with high blood pressure, my mother had health concerns of her own, and I could see firsthand that many people around me were looking for ways to improve their health and wellbeing. To me, the opportunity seemed to offer both purpose and income.
However, doing business in Uganda at that time was very different from today. Mobile phones were becoming more common, but communication was still expensive. Telecom companies charged for every minute—or sometimes every second—you spent on a call. As young people, we became experts at finding the cheapest calling hours. I still remember the days of Mango, the mobile service associated with Uganda Telecom. They would occasionally run heavily discounted night-call promotions. Many of us would stay awake until midnight so we could finally afford those long conversations with our girlfriends and friends. Some people practically became nocturnal just to save airtime! Needless to say, while such tricks worked for social conversations, they were not exactly practical for running a business. You could hardly tell a customer, "Please wait until midnight so I can call you at a cheaper rate." Unlike today, where one can send hundreds of messages instantly through WhatsApp at virtually no cost, every conversation represented a business expense back then.
As a result, marketing was largely a physical activity. I spent countless hours moving from office to office, shop to shop, and building to building carrying products and brochures. Areas such as Kikubo, Kiyembe, Shauriyako, Nakasero and downtown Kampala became my daily hunting grounds. Success depended on how many people you could physically meet in a day. You introduced yourself, explained your products, answered questions, collected cash, and handed over the product. Then you repeated the same process with the next person. Selling was a game of shoe leather, patience and persistence. While it was possible to build a business this way, scaling was extremely difficult because every additional sale required additional physical effort.
Even traditional shop owners faced a similar challenge. Once a shop was opened in the morning, the owner largely depended on foot traffic. Customers either passed by or they did not. The business owner had very little influence over how many people would walk past the storefront on any particular day. Success was often tied to location rather than reach. A shop in a busy trading center enjoyed an advantage that could not easily be replicated elsewhere.
What fascinated me most at the time was observing how our counterparts in Europe and North America operated. GNLD was an international company, and many distributors in developed countries were generating sales volumes that seemed extraordinary to us. The reason was not necessarily that they were more talented salespeople. Rather, they benefited from systems that supported commerce. Consumers were comfortable purchasing products online, websites could process payments through Visa, Mastercard and credit cards, and efficient delivery networks ensured that products reached customers quickly. A business owner could create a website, advertise products online and potentially reach thousands of customers without ever meeting them physically.
In Africa, however, the situation was very different. Most consumers were unfamiliar with online shopping and many viewed it with suspicion. Few people possessed bank cards, and those who did were often reluctant to share card details online. Trust in digital transactions was low, internet penetration was limited, and delivery systems were underdeveloped. Consequently, African entrepreneurs remained dependent on traditional methods of marketing and selling. While the developed world was building digital marketplaces, much of Africa was still conducting business face-to-face.
Then something remarkable happened. Not through a government policy, a foreign aid programme, or a grand economic plan, but through the gradual emergence of three innovations that would fundamentally reshape the way commerce works across Uganda and much of Africa. Those innovations are Social Media, the Boda Boda Industry, and Mobile Money. Together, they have transformed how products and services are marketed, delivered and paid for. In my view, they have become the great equalizers between African entrepreneurs and their counterparts in developed economies.
Social media has effectively become the new marketplace. Millions of Ugandans now spend significant amounts of time on platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and X. For businesses, these platforms have become digital trading centers filled with potential customers. Unlike the old days when reaching one hundred people might require days of physical movement, a single social media post can reach thousands of people within minutes. Today, an entrepreneur operating from Najjera can market products to customers in Nansana, Kyengera, Mukono, Mbarara, Gulu or Arua without ever leaving home. The barriers of geography have been dramatically reduced.
The second piece of this transformation is the boda boda industry. Historically, one of the advantages enjoyed by developed countries was the existence of efficient delivery systems. In Uganda, the boda boda has quietly filled that gap. What began as a transport solution has evolved into one of the most effective delivery networks on the continent. Every day, thousands of boda boda riders move products from sellers to buyers with remarkable speed and affordability. A customer sees a product online, places an order, and within hours a boda boda rider is delivering it to their home or workplace. The boda boda has effectively become Uganda's decentralized logistics infrastructure.
The third and perhaps most revolutionary component is Mobile Money. For decades, exchanging money remained one of the greatest barriers to commerce. Transactions often required physical cash, bank visits or lengthy delays. Mobile Money changed all that. Today, a customer can see a product on social media, make payment instantly using a mobile phone, and receive confirmation within seconds. Money now moves as quickly as information. The transaction that once required several steps and considerable inconvenience can now be completed in less than a minute.
As CEO of OQATA Wellness Solutions, I have witnessed the power of this transformation firsthand. Our affiliates market wellness products across Uganda using social media platforms. Customers place orders online, products are delivered through boda boda networks, and payments are received instantly through Mobile Money. The efficiency is remarkable. A process that once required several days can now happen within a matter of hours. In many cases, entrepreneurs can build substantial businesses without maintaining expensive storefronts or large operational structures.
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this transformation is that it has changed the very definition of a business location. Increasingly, the shop is no longer a physical building but a social media page. The warehouse may be a spare room at home. The cash register is a Mobile Money account. The delivery van is a boda boda rider. In effect, entire businesses can now operate through a smartphone. A single individual can potentially sell products worth tens or even hundreds of millions of shillings while sitting comfortably at home, something that would have been almost unimaginable when I began my entrepreneurial journey.
The future of African commerce may not look exactly like the models developed elsewhere in the world. Instead, it is evolving in a uniquely African way. It is powered by social media, delivered by boda boda riders and financed through Mobile Money. Together, these three innovations have done more than change business; they have democratized opportunity. They have given ordinary Africans the ability to compete, create and prosper in ways that previous generations could scarcely imagine.
And for someone who began by walking from office to office carrying food supplements in a backpack, that is a truly remarkable thing to witness.
The world will not remember the average. It will remember those who stood out, those who went beyond, those who hated mediocrity and embraced excellence. Let us be those people. Let us be the Titans of OQATA. Let us rise above average.
Elias Serugo Muhoozi
Elias Serugo Muhoozi is an author, an entrepreneur, a Rotarian, a business coach, and Chief Executive Officer of OQATA Wellness Solutions. He is passionate about entrepreneurship, digital transformation, wellness and empowering Africans to build healthier, wealthier and more prosperous lives.