Selling event tickets in Uganda without a card reader

Most Ugandan events do not need card infrastructure at all. Buyers already hold MTN MoMo or Airtel Money, and a ticket page that accepts those two collects money from anyone with a phone. Cards matter only for the diaspora buying tickets for family at home.

Selling online also removes the printed-ticket problem: nothing to print, nothing to lose, and no duplicate paper circulating on the night.

Buyers decide in seconds on a small screen. Lead with the date, the venue, and the line-up. Put the price above anything decorative. A buyer who has to scroll twice to find the price is a buyer you may lose.

Give the venue in a form people can act on — a named place plus a landmark beats a plot number.

Sales cluster at three points: announcement, early-bird deadline, and the last 48 hours. Plan a push for each, and post the ticket link in every one — the single most common mistake is a beautiful poster with no purchase link attached.

Give performers, sponsors and committee members the same link and ask them to post it. If you want to track who sold what, use separate ticket types.

Every ticket carries a unique QR code that can be used once. Assign two people to verification, have them practise with a test ticket the day before, and agree what happens when a code shows as already used — usually a supervisor and a short conversation away from the queue.

Compare tickets sold with tickets checked in. That gap is your no-show rate, and knowing it lets you size the next venue and price the next round properly. Then request your payout to Mobile Money.