MOVIT’S SIMPSON BIRUNGI― the Ugandan garage-to-manufacturing-giant billionaire with eyes and hands on the African personal care market   At the height of the FM stations in Uganda in the early 2000s, one of the best inventions that came with the wave and trends of the time was the shrewdness that came through the advertising sector. Many of the players in the ad space competed on who had the best ad running on the airwaves. One of the best products was the Movit ad: Kyoka Movit, Kwonka Movit. It was simple, catchy and memorable. This one ad won many listeners over to the brand that Movit was becoming. It is safer though to say that as a company, Movit products were already running a longer distance on their own. The radio ads only amplified the existence of what was already a very good product.

Looking back, this could be attributed to the relentless effort across the numerous production value chain of Movit from manufacturing to marketing that were both very innovative and aggressive that earned the brand the reputation it had on the shelves in stalls and in homes.

For this to happen, there was a restless mind that pushed for all this to happen, Simpson Birungi. Simpson’s story is one like many other billionaire stories in Uganda. He built Movit from scratch. His is a story nothing short of resilience. A young man in his early twenties, Simpson dreamt of building a homemade cosmetic production chain. At the earliest opportune moment when the silver clouds aligned, he set up Movit Products.

In 1997 when Mr Birungi began the cosmetics brand, there were not many locally made products to write home about. Most of the cosmetics were imported. And at the time, the local market was so used to the products from abroad that it was not fancy to use the locally made products. The idea of BUBU was far from reach. But nonetheless, he started.

With a team of four, he set up a makeshift workshop in Zana-Bunamwaya, a Kampala suburb where the works commenced using rudimentary tools to produce the only product they had at the time; Herbal Baby Jelly, a product which was well received.

In 1999, the bud of Movit Products Limited was shooting through the ground and gaining acceptance in the market. It was then that Simpson went big on pushing for the products on the market mainly through media but also by remaining consistent in terms of product development.

Movit has since grown to surpass being just the household brand but an African celebrated cosmetics brand. From one herbal baby jelly, Movit Products have morphed into more than twenty cosmetic products in three different categories; body, hair care and baby care products.

Presently, after 20 years playing in the market, the big cosmetics brand has centred on creating various products for everyone at home mainly through creating products that exude confidence and beauty among women and children who are the biggest users of cosmetics.

From the time of inception, Mr Birungi has grown the company from a mere makeshift workshop to a fully-fledged working manufacturing plant that has expanded to cover more than one line production on the expansive 50 acres of land where it sits. Both the factory and management units are still located in Zana-Bunamwaya.

What began as a team of five employees has grown to become a team of 2000 employees spread across the various value chains. The company stands as one of the most admired and valued locally grown brands. The cosmetics manufacturing company has since given birth to a group of other companies among which is Sim Plastics Ltd that manufactures all the packaging material used for Movit products.

The company’s main products are Movit, Radiant, Baby Junior, Skin Guard, Pine and Nan. By 2015, the company’s gross revenue was UGX124 billion. Movit paid over UGX10 billion in taxes. According to our sources, by 2020 Movit’s turnover crossed the UGX200 billion mark; specifically reaching, UGX207.8 billion. Net profit was UGX8.2 billion. At the end of 2021, turnover increased to UGX233.7 billion. Net profit grew marginally to UGX8.7 billion.

The company hasn’t only succeded financial, but Movit brands have also been recognised widely. Brand Africa and other reputable establishments have recognised Movit as an admirable and reliable Ugandan brand, a testament that speaks of the company’s trust in the market.

Under the continued leadership of Simpson Birungi, Movit Group of Companies is headed for more glass breaking innovations and inventions not only in the cosmetic space but also in the other areas of its operation.

The Future

At 55, Mr Birungi has earned his seat among the few that are in the tent of Ugandan locally made and bred billionaires.  And yet he is not yet done.  He is rowing the Movit brand boat to cover more than 30 African countries.  

As the Group works on its expansion, the future is going to be greatly impacted by the relationships it continues to cultivate with its partners across the board. Part of the group’s expansion has come through its solid relationship with its financiers over the years. Recently, the manufacturing giant borrowed UGX 10 billion from Uganda Development Bank to set up 10 warehouses of modern storage and production facilities.

Such big undertakings will propel the cosmetics guru to tap into the other regions on the continent that are yet to be reached.

And who knows, soon we could have Movit listed on the securities exchange. It is only a matter of time.