{The EAC Secretary General, Dr. Richard Sezibera commended the Nakumatt for its regional spirit and congratulated them on the opening of the $2 million investment. Nakumatt is based in Kenya.
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Dr. Sezibera, who officially cut the tape to open the supermarket, said the EAC economy is private sector driven and people centred which are the basis for future growth.
He said the Secretariat is working at eliminating non-tariff-barriers so that the private sector can operate more efficiently.
Atul Shah, the Nakumatt Holdings managing director was clearly happy with thee company’s achievement.
“My dream is to see thousands of farmers and other cottage industries accessing formal retail markets such as Nakumatt.
“For this, we have committed to play a mentorship role to raise the capacity of organized groups to deliver suitably packaged and market ready retail products” Shah said.
Shah said Nakumatt wants to increase the formal retail penetration from the current less than 14% to at least 30% in the region by 2025.
Arusha City Mayor, Gaudence Lyimo thanked the Nakumatt management for choosing Arusha.
“For us, Nakumatt supermarket will add value to our city which is famous as Geneva of Africa” Lyimo said. He asked jjjjother investors to borrow a leaf from Nakumatt.
The Nakumatt branch located at the Tanganyika Farmers Association shopping complex, joins another at Moshi town nearly 80 kilometres away, which was first opened in 2011.
With a staffing force of more than 7000 across the region, Nakumatt is one the leading formal sector employers in the retail sphere in East Africa.
Across the region, Nakumatt has been at the forefront in the promotion of regional retail trade integration and currently operates eight branches in Uganda, four in Tanzania and two in Rwanda alongside its 36 Kenya stores.
Notably, Nakumatt was the first retailer to unveil 24-hour shopping across the region.
Shah said that he wants to ensure that Nakumatt double the formal retail penetration in East African from the current less than 14% to at least 30% in the next ten years.
According to company sources, Nakumatt currently enjoys a $650 million turnover from its regional operations.
However the terrorist attack at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi last year hurt Nakumatt’s bottom line.
Some $16 million worth of stock was lost in the subsequent fire at the mall which was one of the most profitable.
Shah said Nakumatt’s future looks bright with its expansion plans now targeting such markets as South Sudan and Burundi, among others. Nakumatt was founded in 1987
Business Week
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