Rwanda Development Board, (RDB) and Dubai Ports World (DP World) have launched a new global e-commerce platform, www.dubuy.com, that will market Rwandan products to the global market place.
The launch comes after RDB and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in December, 2020 to launch the new global B2B and B2C e-commerce platform to make it easier for Rwandan businesses to engage in international trade.
Dubai Ports World is an Emirati multinational logistics company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It specialises in cargo logistics, port terminal operations, maritime services and free trade zones.
Rwanda now becomes DP World’s hub for expanding e-commerce across the East Africa Community and beyond. Rwandan businesses will also benefit from broader DP World services and investment that will help to facilitate and develop trade.
This includes the promotion of Rwandan exports of coffee, tea, and horticulture on Dubuy.com, modernising of Rwanda’s supply chain logistics including in rural areas, and access to digital tools to help businesses save money and expand their reach to local, regional, and global markets.
“We have robust infrastructure to support logistics in Rwanda and we are committed to reducing the cost of logistics, enabling Rwanda to become a regional logistics hub,” Summit Bhardwaj, CEO of DP World Rwanda, said during the launch that was held virtually on Wednesday morning March 3, 2021 between Rwandan officials and DP World Executives.
RDB Deputy CEO, Zephanie Niyonkuru and Rwanda’s Ambassador to the UAE, Emanuel Hategeka, were part of the launch.
Niyonkuru said that Dubuy.com is a great addition to Rwanda’s local and regional trade activities and as a country promoting the manufacturing of products for export. “We believe it will help us quicken the process of connecting buyers and sellers,” he said. “The real work has now started and we need to make sure that many companies sign up and access global markets. We also hope that through the platform, we’ll be able to reduce the overall cost of trade.”
Ambassador Hategeka who has been instrumental in securing this partnership said that, “We are honored that Rwanda is the first country of launch for http://dubuy.com in the region. E-commerce platforms like this are needed now more than ever before as we respond to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
This launch follows also another development where Rwanda’s products are now listed on the most popular e-commerce platforms in Singapore such as Red Mart and Shopee Singapore as well as s major Singapore’s largest grocery retail shops.
In January, this year, the on-going Campaign to promote Rwandan Coffee and other products in Japan, Ambassador Ernest Rwamucyo met with Yoshiaki Kawashima, President, Mi Cafeto, and Special Advisor to JICA on Coffee Value Chain Development Project to explore how more coffee could be accessed in Japan.
Sales of Rwandan coffee in China via online platforms belonging to China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba increased by 400 percent in 2020, according to Alibaba.
