Nakumatt opens 3rd Rwanda store, remains mum on capital injection

Despite facing financial constrain, regional retailer Nakumatt has opened its third branch in Kigali Rwanda.

The move is part of Nakumatt’s regional strategy to also source suppliers from different parts of East Africa to meet demand for goods.

Nakumatt Managing Director Atul Shah said the firm is considering regional importation of popular products found in its other markets to supply consumers in Kenya.

Mr Shah said unique Rwandan produced products will be stocked in Nakumatt branches in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

“For us at Nakumatt, we are restructuring the business to continue playing a pivotal role in the regional retail space by providing a market platform across the region for local produce,” he said.

The new store takes Nakumatt to 64 branches across the region after opening a branch at NextGen Mall along Mombasa road last week.

The retailer is yet to announce whether it had concluded the sale of a 25 percent stake to a strategic investor to mitigate cash flow constraints.

Already billionaire businessman Harun Mwau has offloaded his 7.7 percent minority stake in Nakumatt.

Nakumatt, like most supermarket chains, has been struggling to finance work capital, leading to a pile up of expensive bank loans.

Nakumatt is also working with its suppliers to come up with a new payment schedule that does not pile pressure on day to day operations.

Nakumatt has 47 branches in Kenya, three in Rwanda, five in Tanzania and nine in Uganda.