Union Transport Alliance launches Union Online Duuka, powered by Rukapay
Kampala, Uganda | ENTEBBENEWS.NET | The Katonga Hall at Hotel Africana today was filled with smiles. The mood was euphoric. One could sense that a final piece of the jigsaw puzzle in raising the profile of Uganda’s transport sector had been put in place.
“Today is a very important day for the Union Transport Alliance (bus, boda, taxi, truck). This day is going to transform our lives,” said Union Transport Alliance CEO Fred Ssenoga Bagenda.
He explained that in the past year, the Union has focused on organising and marketing the numbers of people driving the transport sector; creating discipline and order in operations; and now, finally, they are adding a system and technology to help them transform digitally.
The founding CEO of RukaPay Uganda, Rowena Turinawe, was in sync.
“Today marks more than a launch. It marks the beginning of a new chapter in how technology can connect Uganda’s transport ecosystem to the digital economy,” Turinawe said, adding that “RukaPay is building the technology, connections and partnerships that can help people and businesses participate more fully in the digital economy. Uganda should win. And we’re building towards that future.”
This was at the high-profile launch today of Union Online Duuka (shop), a new digital marketplace powered by RukaPay that brings shopping, flexible financing and convenient delivery together on one platform. The chief guest was Dr Hosea Kili, SC, MBS, who serves as the Group Managing Director and CEO of CPF Financial Services in Kenya.
What is Union Online Duuka?
Union Online Duuka is designed to make everyday shopping simpler and more accessible by connecting customers with a growing range of products from Union and trusted Union stockists. It marks a significant step in Union’s ongoing digital transformation and expansion into digital commerce.
Customers can browse available products on their phones, access competitive prices and promotional offers, and, where eligible, use Union loans to complete their purchases. This can be done even using feature phones.
The platform launches under the campaign theme “Sowola – Shop & Chill,” which reflects the ease and convenience at the heart of the new service. With this campaign, Union is inviting Ugandans to experience a simpler way to shop.
“Shop” gives customers access to a growing selection of everyday products, competitive prices, promotions and special deals. “Chill” represents the convenience that follows, from flexible loans for eligible customers to timely delivery within Kampala and Greater Kampala.
The platform powered by RukaPay and supported by strategic partners from Kenya, CPF Financial Services, will also enable the bus, truck, boda boda and truck members and their families to access quick loans via Wetaase, and resolve school fees payments as well.
Through the RukaPay app, customers with a good credit history can also access a range of Union loan products designed to meet different needs. These include Union school fees loans for parents, Union Stockist Loans for eligible retailers and stockists, and Union “Wetaase” Loans for customers seeking quick financial support. Customers can register on the RukaPay app and, once eligible, access Union loans by dialing *289*8*9#.
RukaPay’s *289
RukaPay founding CEO Rowena Turinawe explained why they were excited about the partnership and platform that will be accessed using phone code *289. “The Transport Union represents a significant and organised economic ecosystem that we are excited to work with,” she said.
“RukaPay exists for two simple reasons: Build technology and make life easier for people and businesses. That principle sits at the heart of everything we are building,” she told guests who included different stakeholders and partners of the Uganda Transport Alliance, aka Union.
“For RukaPay, digitisation is about more than payments. It is about making everyday economic activity easier, more visible and more connected. Behind every transaction is a person: a boda rider, passenger, business owner or family.”
She explained that the involvement of CPF Financial Service indicates a desire to make life easier for Ugandan transporters even beyond the borders. “The vision does not stop at Uganda’s borders. Conversations around making trade and cross-border transactions easier are opening new possibilities for how technology and strategic partnerships can connect regional economies.”
RukaPay is also the official digital payments partner for the recently launched Kili Clear Campaign, working with Union Transport Alliance and TMHAI to help one million girls across Uganda access pads.
Ssenoga talks Tenfold Growth Strategy
Speaking at the launch, Fred Ssenoga , CEO of Union Transport Alliance, explained how an organised transport sector can be a game changer and contribute to Uganda’s Tenfold Growth Strategy. Uganda’s Tenfold Growth Strategy is a national economic plan to expand the country’s GDP from about $50 billion to $500 billion by 2040.
Ssenoga said the impact of their union and transport sector is already being felt, as Uganda now is championing the use of EVs, with the country’s boda boda sector having the biggest number of EV bikes on the continent.
“Today we complete our cycle to build the Union Transport Alliance (Bus, Boda, Taxi, Truck) by partnering with Ruka Pay to power our digital systems,” Ssenoga remarked.
Officials from the bus, boda boda, taxi and trucker national unions attended and explained why the launch of Union Online Duuka represents more than the introduction of a new shopping platform.
“It reflects the union’s commitment to not simply keeping pace with change but using innovation to create opportunities and solutions that have a meaningful impact on everyday Ugandans,” officials said.
“Union Online Duuka is an important milestone in Union’s digital transformation. We are responding to the changing needs of our customers by making it easier to access the products they need at competitive prices, while also providing eligible customers with Union loans. As a retailer, you shouldn’t struggle to restock, and as a parent, you shouldn’t struggle to buy school supplies when Union Online Duuka exists.”
Uganda’s Transport sector transformed
Uganda’s transport sector—long fragmented, informal, and underserved—has lacked the structure, financing, and coordination needed to unlock its full economic potential. Uganda’s Union Transport Alliance (The Union) comprises leaders of the taxi, bus, boda boda and truck sectors across the country.
Progress has already been accelerated by strong, high-impact partnerships with leading institutions, including NSSF, MTN, Housing Finance Bank, Spiro, Next Media and others, enabling the Union to deliver financing, connectivity, mobility solutions, and nationwide visibility to its members.
“Building on this foundation, the alliance represents a horizontal expansion across the entire transport ecosystem—integrating boda bodas, taxis, buses, and truck operators onto one unified platform. This coordinated structure enables shared access to financing, technology, partnerships, and markets,” an economics expert said recently.
At its core, the Alliance is designed as a commercial platform (“supermarket”) for already existing products such as the Union ride-hailing app, bike loans, Union water, pads, smartphones and Union Oil, the newly launched Union Data Bundle, as well as future products such as Union matatus (taxis), Union buses, Union trucks, tyres, spare parts, electric cars, backpacks, laptops, scholastic materials and many more.
The Alliance, the first of its kind in the region, also opens the door for deeper collaboration with partners across the mobility, financial, manufacturers and other service providers, offering access to one of the largest organized transport networks in the region.
*****
RELATED STORY
KILI CLEAR: Union Transport Alliance hailed for ‘1 Million Pads for 1 Million Girls’ initiative
The post Union Online Duuka hits Ugandan market appeared first on 1:.
