What Intership?
Intership is Uganda’s first package forwarding and online logistics service, unlocking US, UK & China markets for consumer goods to SMEs and online shoppers.
Solution?
Intership provides a shipping address and warehousing in the US, UK and China for those interested in having their good shipped to Uganda. They repack and consolidate items for customer to help them reduce on costs and also provide familiar payment options like Mobile Money, Cash as well as Local Debit Cards for their customers who want to buy online.
So far they have made it easy for thousands of relatives in the Diaspora to send items to their loved ones back home by providing convenient and affordable shipping and allowing them to pay directly using Paypal.
Funding and Incubation
The intership team started out with own savings which you can classify as Personal Investment or as commonly referred to - boostrapping. The startup is currently incubated at Outbox Hub located on Soliz House, Lumumba Avenue.
Successes
The Intership team has quite a number of successes on their back. In 2015, they won Seedstars Kampala beating SafeBoda and Wizarts Media which came in as first and second runners-up respectively. This year, 2017, they were chosen by MyAfricanStartUp among the top 100 African startups to invest in.
According to Nielsimms Sangho, the CEO of Intership, they have so far shipped 7000 orders ever since they began executing and have seen the orders doubling month on month (MoM).
Challenges
The Intership team cites insufficient long term capital to finance their working capital as well as the receivables from corporate clients who pay upon delivery. They further single out the high taxation and compliance fees that chock the growth of small businesses.
Lastly, the low local investing culture affects the startup(s). This is because foreign investors anywhere in the world can only have faith in a product/startup only if the locals have faith in it.
My thoughts
Intership is one of the few startups we have in the country that are satisfying a real need. But just as they highlighted out in their challenges, however much they're satisfying a need, as long as they have no funding to finance their working capital, they'll go down the drain just like all the promising startups that we've had in the country.
My verdict; It is a great startup with a bright future but needs local support - just like most of the startups we have.