Solar Food Cart Sets the Trend in Uganda

• Musuna food carts equipped with solar panels are helping street traders in Kampala , Uganda up their game.
• They create their own light which reduce electricity bills and allow vendors to stay open longer.
• Musana means “sunlight” in a local Ugandan language.
• The nifty carts are offered in a franchise scheme.

There are now seven Musuna food carts in the capital selling ‘rolexes’, a popular street snack of an omelette and vegetables wrapped in a chapati. Street vendors usually work in shifts, continuing into the night.

“A lot of rolex vendors work 24 hours in different shifts and it’s very difficult for them to work at night,” said Musana Carts Ltd co-founder Nataliey Bitature.

“They either don’t have access to power or they are stealing power or they have to be under somewhere that has power just so that they can see, and so by adding a solar-powered light it gave them so much more ability to stay open longer and to make more money, ”

Those who want to become a Musana cart vendor also go through training in financial management, customer care, hygiene and a host of other skills that will help them run their business. They then pay about 1.5 million Ushs (370 euros) which gives them a solar-powered cart, a fridge, and an operating license from the city authority.

Author: GBA News Desk