From Uganda to Africa; the story of Movit, Uganda’s cosmetics, and personal care products giant From a makeshift workshop in Namasuba, Wakiso District in 1997 emerged Movit Products Limited- a brainchild of a Uganda entrepreneur, a one Simpson Birungi. The company in 1999 outed its first product, Movit Herbal Baby Jelly. Fast forward, today the company’s personal-care products that include: Movit, Radiant, Baby Junior, Skin Guard, Pine and NAN, are a household name, not just in Uganda but in seven other African countries. At the helm of this continuous growth is Bruce Mpamizo who has worked with the company for the last 18 years; rising from a Sales Representative, through to Marketing Manager, General Manager, Sales and Marketing Director, Business Growth Director and most recently, its Chief Executive Officer. He talked to CEO East Africa Magazine about the Movit story and its future.

My name is Bruce Mpamizo, the Chief Executive Officer Movit Products Limited. I hold a Doctorate of humanity from Lead Impact University (USA), a Master’s degree of Science in Marketing, a Bachelor’s degree of Commerce majoring in marketing, and a Higher Diploma in Marketing all of Makerere University Business School.

I also hold a certificate of Senior Management leadership program from Strathmore University Business School Nairobi Kenya and a similar qualification from Nanyang Business School Singapore. I am a member of the Africa CEO Forum and a guest lecturer at Makerere University Business School (MUBS). I have received Training on Goal Alignment of organizations, the 4 disciples of execution (4DX), and Balanced Score Card.

Having worked with the company for over 20 years, I have held several leadership roles rising from a Sales Representative to Marketing Manager, a General Manager, Sales and Marketing Director, Business Growth Director to now Chief Executive Officer. I am one of the longest-serving employees.

I have been at the forefront of Movit Products Limited in its continuous evolution as a cosmetics giant on account of my abilities, especially emphasis on the route-to-market strategy and market development, distribution channel management, trading terms and pricing management, organizational development and people management.

With a team of passionate professionals across the board, I spearheaded the rapid expansion of the company in the local market as well as its expansion into various export markets. I have played a pivotal role in identifying potential markets and coordinating efforts to widen the Movit footprint across borders, which has seen the company, expand its territories to seven other African countries, namely: Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Zambia and South Sudan. We are now planning to conquer other new market territories across Africa.

Away from Movit Products Limited, I am a family man with 5 children and one beautiful wife and we all love and treasure our relationship with God.

What would you attribute the company’s rise to where it is now?

Movit Products Limited is a customer-centric company with a fully-fledged Research and Development team, all supported by a team of dedicated employees in different functions i.e. Commercial, Marketing, Operations, Finance, and Human Resources that together help the company to keep abreast with the changing consumer trends. Our secret lies in the constant development of new product solutions to fit the right consumer circumstances.

Over the years the company has established successfully brands e.g Movit, Radiant, Skin Guard, Baby Junior, Pine and Nan- all with a high top of mind awareness, that ensure we maintain high preference in the minds of the consumers in Uganda and across Africa

Movit has an efficient distribution system that is synchronized to service a route to market model that is lean on operational costs and therefore helps us reach the customer affordably. We are among a few players in Uganda with a fully-fledged quality department and a state of the art laboratory. This investment enables the company to manufacture quality products that are UNBS certified whilst following quality standards in all processes and procedures.

Stakeholder collaborations have also contributed to our success. Movit Products Limited is a member of the Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA), Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UNCCI) and the East African Business Council (EABC). The company recently attained an Authorized Economic Operator certification and is one is the top 100 taxpayers in the country.

Lastly, though most important, the company has made an effort to migrate and integrate all business processes from analog to a world-class enterprise resource planning solution- SAP HANA 4 as well as several other digital solutions like Google Apps.

What is MPL’s market share?

MPL has a 60% market share in the Uganda cosmetics industry

What are some of the biggest challenges the company has encountered in its rise to the top?

Uganda’s cosmetics industry has low capital injection requirements and has as a result attracted very many new entrants. This however poses a key threat in terms of the ability of these new players to maintain the required quality standards, thus creating situations where many consumers are given substandard products. In this regard, we are working closely with the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) and other stakeholders to ensure that the market maintains products certified by the Standards Body.

One of the defining challenges in recent years has been increasing competition from local and international players some of which do not meet the beauty standards. The lack of strict regulations and standards has affected the cosmetics industry exposing people to higher levels of poor quality products and cosmetics toxins.

Additionally, MPL imports 80% of its inputs and the high taxation rates affect its production- with increased costs, you then have a higher unit cost per product charged to a customer.

Covid-19 is a global challenge that has also affected our operations as a company. The lockdown and the restrictions on certain operations like salons, which is our core channel, has affected the cosmetics sector and limited our market potential for haircare products thus limiting our business expansion.

What are Movit’s plans and where do you see the company in 10 years from now?

We hope to be the preferred choice of beauty, comfort, and care products in every household in Africa by 2030. This will be done through a deliberate plan to increase our market share and presence, expanding our regional presence to cover Africa.

As the culture has been over the years, we plan to further expand our product categories by introducing more brands and creating more product ranges to cater for all our customer needs. We also have a long-term plan to establish manufacturing plants across East and Central Africa.

As CEO, Movit Products Ltd, what would you say is your leadership style? Is it something you evolved or it is a hybrid?

My leadership style has evolved over the years due to the different changes in the business and global trends. I have grown to understand that as a leader I should position myself as a multiplier- taking time to listen to my teams, create an enabling environment for the teams to perform, as well as coach and mentor them. I also believe a lot in delegating my people, so they have a chance to deliver. I believe in servant leadership, not as a boss but as a servant. I advocate for staff motivation throughout all leadership levels; it has an undisputed positive effect on the performance of staff across the business.