On Thursday July 2nd we all had the pleasure of visiting Tugende, a social enterprise here in Kampala, Uganda that helps boda boda drivers finance their boda boda. A boda boda is a motorcycle taxi that is commonly used in East Africa. Boda bodas originially were used to transport people between Uganda and Kenya, but now they are found all across Uganda and East Africa.
Those of us who were in the senior entrepreneurship course at DSST had the pleasure of speaking with Michael Wilkerson, the co-founder and CEO of Tugende, when he came and visited our class in May. However, it was awesome to be able to see the Tugende operations and the boda boda drivers it impacts. We began our visit by taking a tour of the Tugende offices and we were then able to speak with Paul who is the chief of operations. Paul graciously spent time with us talking about the history of Tugende, their operations, and how they measure their impact.
We learned that in Kampala there are estimated to be over one hundred thousand boda bodas. The challenge with boda bodas are that majority of the drivers do not own them so they have to continuously pay rent. With Tugende, drivers are able to receive a brand new boda boda of their choice and then work to pay it off over a period of 18 months instead of continuing to pay rent. Drivers only pay 15-20% more per week to Tugende compared to renting, which makes it possible for drivers to afford this program.
After paying off the boda boda the driver is able to double his profit, which allows him to not just survive but to use the additional income to do something such as start a small business for his family. The goal of Tugende is for its drivers to move up the economic pyramid, not just to own their own boda boda. After paying off their boda boda many drivers sell it and use the profits for a variety of things such as starting a small business or paying school fees. Drivers can also return to Tugende to finance a second boda boda or refinance the original boda boda. Tugende is currently working with approximately 1,200 drivers and they also have a VIP program that consists of about 50 drivers who have undergone additional training in customer service (these drivers can be identified by their pink vests).
Tugende has competitors, but what sets them apart is the fact that they measure their success by how many lives they have impacted and not only how much money they have made. Visiting Tugende was inspirational because it is proof that a company does not always have to only focus on increasing their profits or bottom line, but that they can also focus on impacting the community while also simultaneously generating a profit.
