The Observation Behind BixyStays

During my campus days, I used to make site visits to apartment buildings around Kampala. I visited places like Bukoto Living Apartments, Haven Home Apartments in Kiwatule, Belleview Apartments in Naalya, and The Edge Apartments, among others. I’ve always been deeply interested in real estate, just as much as I am in tech, so these visits were driven by one goal: to understand the industry and find a real problem worth solving.

During those visits, I noticed a pattern. Many of these developments were either fully furnished or operating as serviced apartments. That observation pushed me to dig deeper, I wanted to understand how big this segment really was, who the customers were, and why developers were increasingly leaning in this direction.

What I found was a market quietly but rapidly growing.

A Growing Segment

Over the past decade, Kampala has seen a significant rise in furnished and serviced apartments. While exact figures are fragmented, estimates suggest the market has grown from a relatively small niche into a segment of roughly 5,000 to 8,000 units today, alongside thousands more listed on platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com. This growth has been driven by expats, business travelers, diaspora Ugandans, and a growing number of short-term urban users.

At the same time, there’s a clear affordability gap in the traditional rental market. In areas like Bukoto, Ntinda, Kisaasi, and Kyanja, monthly rents for modern apartments often range between UGX 1,000,000 and UGX 2,000,000. For many middle-income earners in Uganda, that’s a stretch, especially when compared to average salaries.

A Shift in the Rental Market

This created an interesting shift in the rental market and business.

Instead of relying solely on long-term tenants, many property owners and landlords began exploring short-stay models. A well-furnished apartment in Kampala can go for around UGX 100,000 to UGX 200,000 per night. While that may not be affordable as a permanent living solution, it becomes accessible for short recreational stays on weekends, celebrations, or small group getaways.

For landlords, this model offers flexibility and the potential for higher returns, especially when well-managed and consistently booked. For guests, it offers something hotels often don’t: more space, privacy, and a home-like environment.

Globally, this shift from hotels to serviced apartments has been happening for years and Kampala is now catching up.

The Gap

Seeing all this, I realized there was a clear gap — not in supply, but in access. The market is highly fragmented, with many of these properties difficult to discover or book efficiently.

That’s where the idea for BixyStays came from: a platform designed specifically for this emerging market, making it easier for guests to find and book quality furnished apartments, while helping property owners reach the right audience and manage their properties with ease.