A group of student entrepreneurs in Moi University Kenya spotted a niche in the delivery sector and made good on it. Unimall is now changing the way students get their favourite outfits and gadgets.
Capital Campus spoke to Isaiah Manyala, who is part of Unimall to find out their motivation for starting the online delivery business and what keeps them going despite the immense competition in that field.
CC: Tell us about the team behind Unimall.
UM: Unimall is a made up of 9 great minds with an aim of seeing that the plan and every operation is well executed.
CC: Why did you decide to target university students?
UM: We decided to target students first because we are students and there has been that inherent challenge of knowing where to conviniently buy specific items. The era of walking to a physical retail store to buy something is slowly coming to an end. Now with Unimall, you simply search what you need and order it to have it delivered to your room.
The second issue was that of variety. Right now, if you walk to a shop on campus, we are certain there are some products you will not get and you’ll have to go to Eldoret town to acquire, or have someone deliver them from a different city.Another major issue was that of pricing. Students deserve fair prices. With Unimall, we ensure that we offer students affordable prices for products.
CC: How has the response been from the students?
UM: The response from students so far has been good. They have embraced the idea and we are seeing some exponential growth in regards to purcasing.
CC: Which products sell the most?
UM: Right now it’s hard to tell. Students have really been excited about the idea and the orders we are getting are not really the ones we expected. There are so many needs to be met. After say 6months, we’ll have a more conclusive report on that.
CC: What are your hopes for Unimall?
UM: We hope that Unimall will grow to be a convenience store for all students in Moi University and beyond.
CC: What motivates you to work on improving your venture every day?
UM: Our motivation is students calling us to thank us that what they ordered arrived faster than they had expected, in good condition.
CC: How do you balance decision-making as a team?
UM: All of us are driven by the same goal, hence decision making has been easier with our team.
CC: How can one connect with you?
UM: You can find our website at www.unimall.co.ke
Twitter: @unimallke Facebook: www.facebook.com/unimallafrica
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unimall
This article was conducted by Capital Campus Correspondent Anthony Mbugua.
