Online shopping platform comes to the rescue amidst coronavirus lockdown (NewTimes)

With 41 confirmed cases as of Tuesday and the country on lockdown, members of the public are strongly advised to stay home except when going to fetch basic needs’ products such as food.

However, online shopping platform murukali.com has eliminated the need to go market to shop, coming to the rescue of many.

Murukali, e-commerce that has been delivering groceries, office equipment and day to day necessary products-, says that they are adequately equipped and prepared to go an extra mile for its customers during the outbreak to deliver ordered products at the customer’s doorstep.

With 5 years of experience in the industry, Yvette Uwimpaye, the company’s Chief Executive Officer told The New Times they have enough products to satisfy the market and have put some discounts to ensure affordability among their customers.

The platform provides an option to order household consumables and have them delivered at their doorstep at a small fee.

“Amidst these times of the lockdown, we’ve decreased our delivery fee to 1500 Rwf in Kigali, and we’re offering a 50 percent discount on some food baskets,” Uwimpaye said.

Accessible via murukali.com under the package and recipe category, the food bag is a concept they’ve introduced to ease the shopping process.

To put into context, the green food basket priced at Rwf 7500 contains carrots (1 kg), zucchini (1 piece), broccoli (1 piece), cabbage (1 piece), dodo (1 piece), red onion (500g), tomatoes (1 kg), and bell pepper (3 pieces).

Other food baskets available include protein meat bag, salad bag, veggie big bag naming but a few.

Among other measures to help people with the shopping experience, Uwimpaye said, customers can suggest the product they can’t find on our website via the company’s support number and get it delivered to them.

According to the CEO, the delivery time depends on the location of the customer.

Stressing on the use of cashless payment methods, Uwimpaye said that their online and Mobile money payment system are well functioning, "eliminating any need for cash payment.”

“Cash may be accepted of buyers have no alternative,  reason why we have equipped our drivers with necessary protection such as masks, gloves, and alcohol-based sanitizers to help curb the spread of coronavirus,” she added.

Currently, Murukali only delivers within Kigali and advised customers to order during the day as delivery may take longer due to the lockdown.