Musana Carts has prioritized providing their solar-powered cart to street vending entrepreneurs, which has turned out to be hugely popular.
The goal of the startup is to earn a sustainable, reliable income from their sales of solar-powered street vending carts. So, what do these carts include?
Each cart contains an eco-friendly stove, light bulbs, and phone chargers all are powered by the built-in solar panels. Business licenses, access to finance, business, and WASH training are also included by the startup.
Currently, there are 10 Musana Carts that are in Kampala. These 10 carts alone are impacting the lives of over 30 street vendors.
The carts are designed for low-earning, self-employed entrepreneurs with the goal of helping them compete in the formal economy.
Manon Lavaud, the strategic lead of Musana Carts, said, “Musana Carts addresses these issues, offering street vending carts on a rent-to-own scheme, offering key trainings on how to run a business, providing financial advice and help to enable people to earn a better living.”
She continued to say, “Musana Carts is financially sustainable: we generate revenue from cart sales, branding space and franchise fees. Advertising is a large but saturated market. Since very few companies can afford billboard style branding, advertising space on a cart is a great solution for growing companies.”
The company is earning a profit as they can sell their carts successfully for more than they are being produced.
The startup has recently signed a deal with MTN, which is the largest telecommunications company in all of Africa. Lavaud and her team are determined to improve its product further to help more street vendors improve their profits.