United Persons with Disabilities (UPDS) has unveiled Zimba Marketplace, an inclusive digital marketplace designed to expand market access, visibility, and growth opportunities for entrepreneurs with disabilities in Uganda.
The platform is starting as a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) with a small group of early entrepreneurs with disabilities. This first phase will allow UPDS to test the platform, learn directly from entrepreneurs and customers, and strengthen the model before expanding to more entrepreneurs and communities.
Zimba Marketplace responds to the barriers entrepreneurs with disabilities face in reaching customers, building networks, and accessing opportunities to grow their businesses. When explaining the platform, Zimba Marketplace founder Harunah Damba said it was designed to give entrepreneurs with disabilities more than a space to sell their products. Through Zimba, entrepreneurs can create business profiles, showcase their products and tell the stories behind their businesses. They can also create Growth Goals that explain what they need to move their businesses forward - from equipment and training to market access, mentorship and other forms of support.
The idea behind Zimba Marketplace is rooted in a challenge its founder, Harunah Damba, experienced personally. For years, Harunah has been involved in small-scale farming, particularly raising chickens and rabbits. Like many small entrepreneurs, the lack of a reliable market and limited support to grow the venture were major stumbling blocks.
"Finding a reliable market was a constant struggle. Sometimes the products were ready for sale, but there were not enough buyers. Even when customers were available, market prices were often unstable, making it difficult to sell the products at a fair price and at the right time."
“When you are running a small business, having a good product is not enough. You need people to know that the product exists, you need customers, and you need opportunities to grow,” Harunah said. “My experience in farming helped me understand how frustrating it can be to have something to sell but constantly worry about where the next market will come from.”
Zimba was therefore built around more than simply putting products online. It seeks to give entrepreneurs with disabilities a place where customers can discover their products, understand the people behind them, and connect with their ambitions for growth.
Starting small, with bigger ambitions
The MVP will initially work with a small group of committed entrepreneurs, with UPDS aiming to use their experiences to shape the next stage of the platform. Over the longer term, UPDS aspires to build Zimba into a growing community that can:
- Reach 100+ entrepreneurs with disabilities;
- Help businesses reach customers beyond their immediate communities;
- Connect entrepreneurs to partners, mentors and potential supporters;
- Create opportunities for entrepreneurs to communicate their business growth needs directly;
- Generate evidence about the barriers and opportunities facing entrepreneurs with disabilities in the digital economy; and
- Demonstrate how accessibility and inclusion can be built into digital commerce from the beginning.
More than an online shop
Zimba has been designed to make the entrepreneur visible alongside the product. Customers will be able to learn about the people behind the businesses, their journeys, the impact they are creating, and their aspirations for growth. This allows entrepreneurs to build connections around both the quality of their products and the stories behind their enterprises.
The Growth Goals feature takes this further. An entrepreneur who needs a new machine, training, equipment, or support to enter a new market can communicate that goal through the platform, creating an opportunity for individuals and organizations interested in inclusive entrepreneurship to support practical business growth.
An invitation to entrepreneurs and partners
UPDS has officially opened registration for the first group of entrepreneurs with disabilities interested in joining Zimba Marketplace.
Registration is free, and there are no fees to join the MVP. UPDS will provide guidance to participating entrepreneurs as they create their profiles, upload products, develop their stories, and identify appropriate growth goals.
The launch also creates an opportunity for development partners, private-sector organisations, disability organizations, financial institutions, technology partners, and other supporters to contribute to the platform's next stage. As the MVP progresses, UPDS hopes to build partnerships around entrepreneur training, digital skills, accessible technology, market linkages, business mentorship, equipment, financing and research. Learn more and register today here.
