Edrine Sebalu is an entrepreneur dealing in electricals in Nakasero Kiyembe lane. Coming from a strong business background, with nearly every family member engaged in entrepreneurship, in 2019, after completing his A-Level, Sebalu chose to join his father at the garments shop.
However, seeking to earn beyond his daily allowance, Sebalu introduced gomesi linens and event chiffons to his father’s shop, supplying nearby arcades and earning a notable profit. Around this time, one of his cousins in Dubai sent him a consignment of used phones.
Sebalu recalls. ‘While managing my father’s business, I ventured into phone sales, connected with renowned suppliers, and quickly discovered it was even more profitable.’
When universities reopened for the new academic year, his father sent him back to school. During his second semester, the Covid-19 pandemic forced students to return home. While at home, Sebalu watched his cousin, an engineer, begin securing projects and even start his own company.
‘My father was constantly on my case. I felt the pressure of not doing anything, especially as he kept reminding me that I was a man and needed to step up,’ he says.
Navigating the phone business
Near the end of the lockdown, his cousin sent another shipment of Japanese phones and planned to start a phone shop, inviting Sebalu to manage it. These initially operated online through Jiji, Facebook Ads, and Instagram, successfully attracting clients.
After two months of testing the waters, they opened a shop, bringing in another relative to work with Sebalu. As business grew, they expanded into vending and wholesaling button phones across Kampala’s suburbs, but challenges soon emerged.
‘As we vended the phones with my relative, I tracked sales and stock, but week by week, both inventory and money decreased,’ Sebalu recalls. ‘Even after reconciling daily accounts, discrepancies persisted. Losses kept rising, and whatever was missing, we had to cover together.’ The experience was frustrating, as his efforts were not yielding any profit.
Before quitting, an idea struck Sebalu. He approached a friend, an experienced player in the phone business, about opening a new shop and asked if he could supply phones to him on credit. With his friend’s approval, Sebalu arranged for another person to stand in for him at his cousin’s shop and also hired an auditor, ensuring he left the business on a clean slate.
‘All my life, the one person I wanted to impress was my father. When I was cleared, I spoke to him about starting my own business, believing it would make him proud and that he might even offer me a loan as support. Instead, he was bitter, upset that I had worked for my cousin briefly and had even failed to focus on my studies,’ recounts Sebalu.
Although this did not deter him, by the end of 2021 Sebalu secured a subrented space for Shs700,000, set up a counter, and invested Shs1m through Alibaba to purchase phone covers to accompany the phones he had obtained on credit. Since he did not want to take his cousin’s clients, Sebalu had to start afresh.
The business gradually gained momentum, with many customers buying multiple items at once, especially in December, when the phones were more affordable. Being the sole supplier of Japanese phone covers gave him a sense of pride and brought in significant profits.
The following year, Sebalu returned to university for his examinations but was inconsistent at work. The person he had left in charge was also preparing to return to school, and upon his return, Sebalu discovered that several phones were missing.
‘I was upset, but as usual, I let it pass and focused on my business,’ he recalls.
Additionally, in the phone business, there are always unscrupulous clients, and Sebalu experienced this firsthand. One early morning, a client contacted him through Jiji to deliver three iPhone Xs, each valued at Shs1.8m.
Sebalu went to Namungona for the delivery, but to his shock, the client arrived with two large men who attacked, and beat him up, stealing the three phones along with cash and two others he had on hand.
‘By then, I was worth Shs9m, but the money had to cover multiple expenses. I returned to the hostel and gradually repaid the debts, while also covering rent and my tuition. It was a challenging and demotivating period, with immense pressure.’
He adds, ‘I even had to sell some of my own stock to meet obligations. I resumed the business, but after just two months, the second lockdown was imposed.’
During this period, Sebalu decided to retrieve his phones from the shop and market them online. He acquired a bike to make deliveries himself. Even then, on one occasion, a client he arranged to meet at Ham shopping grounds ran off without making payment.
While the business was challenging, Sebalu faced multiple obstacles, including covering losses caused by employees to avoid legal issues, dealing with fellow entrepreneurs who took items without paying, and managing clients who returned damaged goods for cash.
To make ends meet, he even sold clothes every morning until 8pm before resuming phone sales.
‘All the money I had been making from the phone business was just disappearing, and my progress had come to a standstill. I felt like I had reached a dead end, so I decided to quit the business,’ Sebalu recalls.
Later, a relative asked him to get a loan of Shs5m from the bank and she failed to repay it. What truly broke Sebalu, however, was being robbed while visiting his father. Under immense depression, he decided to stay home for a while.
Sebalu’s recovery phase
When one of his brothers opened an electrical shop, he asked Sebalu if they could work together. Overwhelmed by depression, Sebalu first sold off his phone just to have peace on the journey. Here, he learnt the value of patience. Using the money he earned as salary, along with some from the phones he had left at his former shop, he rejoined the phone business.
He kept his phones at iconnect store and sold them gradually while working, marking the beginning of his comeback.
‘It is a business I have loved ever since I was a child,’ Sebalu says.
He called back his friend to help at the shop and also opened a gaming centre in Wandegeya, equipped with five PlayStation screens, four consoles, furniture, and cameras. However, the venture did not perform as expected and operated at a deficit, prompting him to eventually give up and redirect his focus.
Building Les electricals
With savings of Shs30m, Sebalu opened Les Electricals in 2024, initially stocking only a few high-demand items he knew would sell quickly. Attracting clients was not easy at first, but he leveraged Jiji for marketing and compiled a contact list of engineers, sharing product prices and availability through broadcasts to generate interest.
Although walk-in clients are limited due to the shop’s location, Sebalu plans to secure a more visible space to increase exposure, as roughly 70 percent of his sales currently rely on online channels.
Sebalu says he is proud of how far the business has grown. He has managed to purchase a piece of land in Matugga, resumed his studies, and is now close to completing his degree. Physically and mentally, he feels well and at peace.
As market trends continue to evolve, he makes it a point to introduce something new every time he restocks his inventory. One of the major challenges Sebalu faces is clients taking items on credit and delaying payments, often remaining unresponsive, which affects cash flow. Despite this, his business continues to flourish.
To stay ahead of the competition, he has focused on a strategy he calls ‘maximising sales,’ with the goal of selling to clients who will return. He keeps his prices competitive, acknowledges the influence of established companies such as CHINT, and is constantly looking for ways to improve his marketing efforts.
Sebalu says that thriving in business requires discipline and consistency, particularly in turning up and managing day-to-day operations. He has no plans of closing Les Electricals and aims to grow it to the scale of established firms.
This year, he plans to implement consistent marketing campaigns on TikTok to expand his reach and further boost his clientele.
Before graduating, he plans to develop a database to efficiently manage and control his business, avoiding the challenges he faced in the phone trade. Additionally, he intends to import customised goods from China to diversify his offerings.
On a broader scope, Sebalu envisions becoming an investment banker while owning his own company or bringing a foreign company to operate locally.
As advice to young people, he urges them to pursue their passions and focus on careers or businesses they truly love.
Future plans
To stay ahead of the competition, he has focused on a strategy he calls ‘maximising sales,’ with the goal of selling to clients who will return.
He keeps his prices competitive, acknowledges the influence of established companies such as CHINT, and is constantly looking for ways to improve his marketing efforts.