Tracking and Fleet Management in Uganda: An Overview of Track24 by Mas Yunus

Interview with Masaba ‘Mas’ Yunus, Founder and CEO of Track24

What is your presence in the sector? Is it a competitive environment? Are there many challenges or opportunities?

We are not the first to come into the fleet management space. We came into the sector with a five-year plan to address the markets that had not yet been tapped and to partner with the private sector. Our strategy was to deal with insurance and financial institutions because this is where the big market is. Insurance companies will give their clients a discount on comprehensive coverage for their vehicles or motorcycles if they have our system installed. We look at banks and other financial institutions that are issuing financing for vehicles and motorcycles as our biggest clients. They will often not give out loans unless a vehicle has a tracking system installed to prevent theft. This has been our niche market. Other clients of ours are logistics companies that are tracking cargo and delivering products. We also work with a company called Safe Boda, which is a boda boda hailing service in Uganda. We have managed to consolidate this market. Our major market is not individuals, rather organizations.

What are your competitive advantages? Why should companies choose you?

One of our major competitive advantages is our pricing. We go for low margins because our operations costs are low. We have mainly been outsourcing in terms of installations that are not within our reach which has helped us to cut costs in terms of having a full-time team. We normally get a team together to work on a particular project, but do not maintain that expensive team when they are not working. Another competitive advantage is the support we offer to the clients. It is one of our major selling points to companies. Once we enroll a client, we attach a relations manager to every account who keeps in constant contact with the clients. Other companies do not offer support once the deal is closed. They do not follow up to see if the companies like the service they are getting. We have a lot of thefts of assets in Uganda. We work with the police on recovery of these assets. Our team is always on the ground and we have an understanding with the police in terms of operations. Having that kind of support with constant back and forth of information is what our clients want.

How was the market affected by the recent COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns?

COVID really affected us very badly. We had one of our biggest clients, which was a bank, freezing all issuance of new loans and asset financing because with the current environment they are not sure if they will be paid back or not. During COVID, we are focusing on doing reviews for these particular assets that have been tracked with us and keeping in constant touch with the clients. In terms of new businesses, there was nothing coming in until the lockdown was lifted. Once vehicles were allowed to operate again, there was an influx of clients in terms of people who wanted to buy their own personal cars and have them tracked by us.

How do you see the situation evolving to the end of the year?

During COVID, our offices were mostly closed and we were working remotely from home doing the monitoring of assets and giving clients support. However, we were able to learn a lot. For example, the other industry that I got to know about was tourism. It was hit hard, but there was a bright side. People started embracing local tourism since the airports were closed. Because there was no place to go, personally, I began to travel around my own country and I found out that it is a very beautiful place to be. I went to some of the islands and was introduced to some locals where I was able to acquire over 15 acres of land where I am hoping to set up a resort along the beach. Tourism is one of the biggest sectors in Uganda that attracts a lot of people to the country. But what is there in terms of accommodation or activities? As a Group, leisure and hospitality will be one of the sectors we plan to move into now.

What will the strategy be for the company next year?

Right now, I am employing over 100 youth throughout the Mas Group. It is something that I pride myself in. I want to build a brand out of Mas Group that is continental and that cuts across different sectors.

I have done some consulting on a personal level for companies that are seeking penetration across Uganda. One case point is Bazebo.com which is an online business. I have also worked as a consultant for Hello Food, which is now Jumia, when they were first coming into the market. As a person, I am doing more research and reading more. I am a serial entrepreneur so I am always on the lookout for different sectors that are prospective in nature and sectors that are going to be revolutionary. For example, I run an energy company called Khainza Energy where we are doing bio gas. Before COVID, we were in the process of putting up our biodigester. One of the things we have been able to do is to identify those distributors for the bio gas. The bio gas will be packaged in cylinders which has not been the practice here. We will be in direct competition with LPG. But because bio gas is tax free here, renewable energy, we will be able to sell at almost half the price. We have gotten funding and have been able to use grants for this business. In terms of growth of Track24, since the government has loosened the lockdown, we are slowly getting back to what we were doing before, mainly dealing with insurance companies and financial institutions for fleet management. We are also writing proposals since the government and most companies have come to realize that it is important to track their fleet in terms of fuel with the tight budget for everyone. We can bring solutions that can help those companies break even or even cut down on costs. If we can monitor fuel for a company, they are going to see more use for this period of time. They are low on cash and we are providing a solution that will enable them to track fuel, track usage of the vehicles, and manage their fleet.

What is your international reach?

Uganda is a virgin place for business. We still want to concentrate in the country for the next year going forward. We want to work on this market and build all our businesses around strengthening and consolidating our reach. However, one of the things we plan within the next five years is to move into South Sudan which is also a virgin market for tracking and fleet management. There are many international organizations there that need to keep track of their staff and assets. The biggest challenge, of course, is still security. It is one of the scary things preventing us from going there already. We are also looking at Rwanda in the next five years, but the demographics do not favor our kind of business. We usually prefer to work in places with high populations in terms of turnover.

What are you looking for in investors? Would you be interested in giving them shares?

At Track24, we always think on the scale of our projects. We are also interested in investors that want equity once we have a plan to scale. We have been drawing up our five-year expansion plan and are moving forward.

Project yourself into the medium term, three years’ time. What would you like to have achieved for yourself and for the company?

The saying is true that when you are young, you have more energy and you take more risks. I am not afraid of a heart attack from stress. Being young gives me the ability and insights of doing things that are bold, but when you are older you might be afraid of venturing into certain sectors because of the uncertainty. But with COVID and this crisis, I see more opportunity when people are trying to hold back their money which is why I am going into tourism. It is easier to invest during this time when other people do not want to let go of their money. The prices for things like land are much cheaper because everyone is desperate for cash. So, for those with cash to spend, it is easy to set something up for the future. COVID will not be the same thing in one year from now. If you invest now, setting up a project will take at least one year anyway. I personally look at myself as a business leader, mainly for the youth. I want to be a leader that youth can look at for inspiration in terms of self-employment and creating jobs for other people. Starting a business is not just about me. Right now, I am employing over 100 youth throughout the Mas Group. It is something that I pride myself in. I want to build a brand out of Mas Group that is continental and that cuts across different sectors.

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