Uganda’s 13,784km electric bus journey wins big

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |

A 13,784-kilometre road trip from Kampala to Cape Town and back has earned Ugandan creative agencies Swangz Avenue and The Quollective Africa top honours at the Silverback Awards, after a campaign designed to prove the capabilities of Uganda’s electric bus industry delivered both international recognition and a major commercial breakthrough.

The campaign, dubbed Business Unusual, involved taking Kiira Motors’ Kayoola EV electric bus across six African countries to demonstrate its performance, challenge public scepticism and position Uganda as a credible player in the continent’s automotive industry.

At this year’s Silverback Awards, Swangz Avenue emerged as the biggest winner of the night, securing the highest number of awards for its execution and production of the campaign. The Quollective Africa, which developed the campaign strategy and is ranked ninth among Africa’s independent agencies, won the coveted Top Agency of the Year award.

The recognition adds to the campaign’s growing international profile, following its shortlisting at the Loeries Awards in South Africa.

The campaign addressed a challenge facing Kiira Motors after developing the Kayoola EV: convincing potential customers and the wider public that Uganda had built an electric bus capable of operating under real-world conditions and competing beyond its domestic market.

Rather than relying on a conventional product launch, the agencies chose to demonstrate the vehicle’s capabilities through an ambitious cross-border expedition.

The bus travelled through six countries, with stops transformed into public demonstrations. Ordinary citizens were invited to experience the vehicle, transport industry leaders took part in test drives, while four content creators documented the journey and its challenges.

Benon Mugumbya, Co-founder of Swangz Avenue, said the campaign was designed to replace claims about the bus with direct public experience.

“This was never about making a bus look good for a day. It was about creating a moment that allowed people to see what Uganda has built and make up their own minds,” Mugumbya said.

“The journey did not just tell people that the bus was real. It gave them proof.”

The strategy appears to have delivered results beyond brand visibility. The campaign reached 10.9 million people and helped Kiira Motors secure an order for 450 buses, described as the largest single order in the company’s history.

The commercial outcome gives the campaign significance beyond the advertising industry, demonstrating how marketing can support industrial development, build confidence in locally manufactured products and potentially open up markets for Ugandan businesses.

For Kiira Motors, the journey offered an opportunity to demonstrate the Kayoola EV beyond controlled factory and exhibition environments. For the creative agencies, it showed how an unconventional marketing strategy could turn a product’s biggest challenge into a compelling public engagement campaign.

The awards also highlight the growing capacity of Uganda’s creative industry to develop campaigns that compete for recognition on the continental stage.

Swangz Avenue’s performance at the Silverback Awards and The Quollective Africa’s agency recognition reinforce the role of local creative businesses in connecting brands, technology and consumers through innovative storytelling.

The agencies are now challenging companies and marketers across the region to rethink conventional product launches and invest in experiences that allow consumers to engage directly with products.

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