NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, March 5, 2015

For a quick, cheap ride all you need to do is find a boda-boda. Boda-bodas, bicycle or motorcycle taxis, are easy to find or flag down in any East African city. But most people don’t stop to think about the drivers and how they are not the owners of the boda-bodas they operate.

Tugende has transformed Uganda’s transport sector by creating opportunities for low-income motorcycle drivers to own their own bikes while providing safe transportation to their clients. Tugende is a for-profit organization offering an affordable lease-to-own model to help motorcycle taxi drivers own their own motorcycles in 18 months or less instead of renting indefinitely. Their services target young men often with little or no education with daily earnings of up to $5 a day.

The African continent has become home to a new wave of creativity and talent, with Nairobi as the hotbed of innovation. But Nairobi isn’t the only African city to take off, Kampala, is its neighboring, lesser known little sister, is making big waves with social enterprises like Tugende.