RupuShops and RupuTravel online commerce portals officially launched

Going on trips and shopping is set to get much easier with the official launch of RupuShops and RupuTravels. The 30th May, 2013 launch at The Serena Hotel marked an expansion of Rupu, arguably Kenya’s largest online shopping website besides being named by Forbes Magazine as one of the “Top 20 Start-ups in Africa in 2012”.

Ben Maina, Rupu’s CEO expounds on the concept: “Over the last 2 years, we have built Kenya’s largest e-commerce brand that gives consumers discounts on goods and services in form of deals. Travel was always among our most successful deal categories and we saw that our customers started asking increasingly for it. The next logical step for us was to launch RupuTravel, a portal that brings Kenyans the best deals to travel our beautiful country.”

With RupuTravel, a click on the mouse grants you an opportunity to select a travel package within the country. The online portal offers clients the best selection of travel packages on the domestic front by simply visiting www.ruputravel.co.ke. From the 50-plus picks available, a client selects an offer and sends a request to a RupuTravel customer agent who tailors the deal specifications or makes a reservation. RupuTravels is itself officially a tour operator that has handled over 500 travel requests during its beta test phase.
RupuShops on the other hand enables online shoppers to choose from over 1,300 Fashion, Electronics, Home and Lifestyle products. This serves as a boon to local entrepreneurs whose goods are listed free of charge on www.rupushops.co.ke and a commission only arises after a sale is made. The platform features local and international brands side by side whose availability is guaranteed by a countrywide delivery service.

What’s more, the two portals are accessible on PC or mobile phones with their diverse payment systems incorporating M-Pesa, Cash on Delivery or Credit and Debit Cards. Clients then get a coupon whose print-outs are used to redeem purchased goods or services. Rupu has been on the Kenyan market from 2010 and has served over 500 businesses so far. With the Communication Commission of Kenya reporting over 16.7 million Kenyan internet users by April 2013, e-commerce definitely has more room for expansion and will define the future of business and travel in Kenya.

By Mark Namaswa