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Nakumatt CEO Atul Shah/FILE

Kenya

Nakumatt seeks equity investors to expand

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 24 – Supermarket chain Nakumatt is looking for equity investors to fund its second phase of expansion across the East African region.

With 32 stores spread across Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, Nakumatt is looking to capture new markets with Tanzania being its top priority in a plan dubbed Nakumatt 2.0.

The expansion will see the store also move into southern Sudan and Burundi.

Nakumatt Managing Director Atul Shah said on Tuesday that the East African retail and shopping market was virtually untapped presenting an exciting opportunity to expand.

Nakumatt is working with a consortium of four local banks namely Standard Chartered, Diamond Trust, Bank of Africa and KCB to support Nakumatt’s growth and vision.

He cited the entry of international retailers such as Wal-Mart into the Kenyan market as an indicator of the potential in the region.

“This is a testament of the vibrancy of the region. This will however not be detrimental to our business model,” Mr Shah said.

Speaking during a dinner hosted for its suppliers, Mr Shah said that Nakumatt had achieved a 15 percent organic growth and 25 percent in 2010.

Going by the current growth rate, he expressed optimism that the firm will be closing the year with a projected Sh40 billion turnover in 2011.

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Nakumatt also has a Pan African strategy and has commissioned a feasibility study to facilitate its entry to such countries as Burundi, Zambia, South Sudan, DRC, Nigeria, Botswana and Malawi.

Most notable is that Nakumatt will be making a return to its birth town of Nakuru this year.

The MD said that Nakumatt will also be seeking to list on the regional stock exchanges in coming years to raise capital for their expansion.

“As esteemed partners and suppliers, we shall most definitely be counting on your support as we also seek to share the Nakumatt cake by listing at the regional stock exchanges in due course,” Mr Shah said.

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