Tuskys, the Kenyan supermarket chain struggling under debt, has now closed all five of its branches in Uganda. The closures, prompted by significant debts are likely to lead the retailer to exit Uganda after 11 years. Tuskys has shut down its …

Shoprite has confirmed it will close its two remaining stores in Kenya, in an otherwise impressive set of annual results that have seen group sales increase by 6.4% to R156.9bn ($9.32bn) in the 52 weeks to 28th June 2020. There is …

Egyptian cheese producer Domty and FrieslandCampina have signed an MoU to explore joint business opportunities in Africa. The companies plan to collaborate to export cheese to other African countries. Domty was founded in 1988 in Egypt. It is a leader in the Egyptian …

Pearl Dairy Farm Limited (PDFL), the largest dairy processor in Uganda, is expanding into Ethiopia, Malawi and South Sudan. The company, which markets its products under the Lato brand, is also looking at export markets as far afield as Algeria. Pearl …

DHL Express has taken a minority stake in Link Commerce, the UK-based e-commerce platform that sits beneath MallforAfrica.com and DHL’s Africa eShop service. DHL is betting on a fundamental change in purchasing behaviours in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which …

At Trendtype we have decided to put our thoughts down on paper, as it were. Headline: there are lots of reasons to believe that African countries may emerge from COVID-19 in better (or less worse) shape than developed economies in …

Majid Al Futtaim has finally opened its first Carrefour store in Uganda after months of delays. The first store, in Kampala’s Oasis Mall, will be joined in 2020 with a 3,400m² outlet at Kampala’s Metroplex Mall. Now the company has …

The problem is retail development rankings are useless. Worse than useless, actually. We explain why we don’t trust AT Kearney’s Global Retail Development Index when it comes to Africa. A few years ago we wanted to build a retail market …

Massmart, Walmart’s South African subsidiary, has started the consultation process to close up to 34 stores in South Africa as part of the turnaround plan from new CEO, Walmart veteran Mitchell Slape. But Massmart needs a more radical change of focus. …

So here are our big themes in 2019 and a look ahead to 2020. It’s been another eventful year in African consumer and retail markets in 2019. Some big retail players coming unstuck In grocery retail, some big players have come …

In a further sign that East African countries are intent or putting up trade barriers to protect local sectors, Kenya has proposed a 16% VAT on imported milk from Uganda. The move comes because Kenyan dairy farmers believe they are …

Ugandan conglomerate Ruparelia Group has opened a supermarket in its new Kingdom Mall in Kampala. The 56,600m² mixed use site includes offices, apartments and retail and is backed by Chinese investors. It features a new Chinese-owned supermarket, under the Shopping Union fascia. Ruparelia …

Peer to peer farmer network and marketplace WeFarm has raised $13m in Series A round of funding. The round was led by True Ventures, with AgFunder and June Fund also investing. It means WeFarm has raised a total of $20m to …