Potential in sub-Saharan Africa

A.T. Kearney, a management consultancy, sees sub-Saharan Africa as a region with great potential for international retailers. Ruanda offers the greatest potential for growth, while Nigeria and Namibia occupy second and third spots. This is the conclusion that A. T. Kearney comes to in the “African Retail Development Index” which has been published for the first time. This optimistic assessment is based on a scarcely developed commercial landscape, continuing urbanisation and an increasingly stable economic situation in many African states. Certainly one of the biggest remaining challenges is the setting up of a functioning supply chain. Still dominant in the Africa of today are traditional, non-multiple forms of retailing, which means small independent shops, kiosks and non-organised open-air markets. Together they account for ninety per cent of the entire market.