Marc Du Toit, the Head of Retail at Knight Frank Uganda addresses media.

By Our Reporter

Metroplex Shopping Mall in Naalya is set for redevelopment. This after it was sold off to Gateway Delta, a Mauritian real estate development company.

This was announced by Marc Du Toit, the Head of Retail at Knight Frank Uganda who were charged with management of the mall and also brokered the purchase deal.

“Knight Frank Uganda is pleased to announce the sale of Metroplex Shopping Mall to Gateway Delta. Gateway Delta have purchased Metroplex Shopping Mall as a redevelopment opportunity.” Marc Du Toit told media during a press briefing held at Golden Tulip hotel on Tuesday.

According to Pumi Lukhele, the Development Manager at Gateway Delta, negotiations for the acquisition of the mall have already been finalized and  approximately US$20 million earmarked for the project.

“We are currently finalizing the acquisition of Metroplex Shopping Mall and local consultants have already been appointed to commence with the redevelopment process.” Pumi Lukhele revealed. “The interior of the mall itself will receive a major revamp, including realignment of the mall for improved visibility.”

The mall will be revamped into a shopping and entertainment hub hosting diverse leisure and entertainment offerings, grocery stores, cafés and restaurants and a diverse array of fashion stores among others.

French based supermarket, Carrefour, who recently announced their entry into Uganda has already booked to become the anchor tenant. Other international retailers including Woolworths, Bata, Aga Khan, and Pep among others are also said to have shown interest in opening outlets at the mall.

The mall is expected to officially open in April 2020.

Bebe Cool entertains revelers in Masaka.

By Our Reporter

Business was brought to a standstill in Masaka town on Friday afternoon as MTN Uganda launched the second edition of the “MoMo Nyabo” campaign which is aimed at encouraging customers to transact using Mobile Money.

The campaign which was officially launched during a press briefing held at Brovad Hotel was marked by a flurry of fanfare, much to the excitement of the town dwellers.

The launch was followed by a procession around the town displaying the brand new Toyota Wish cars and motorbikes that will be given away during the campaign.

It culminated in a mega concert which was hosted at the Masaka Recreation grounds. Revelers were entertained by Uganda’s top artistes including Jose Chameleone and Bebe Cool among others.

During the concert, the first winners in this year’s MoMo Nyabo campaign were also announced. Kigundu Rashid and Steven Nanziga emerged the lucky winners and each walked away with a motorcycle.

Hundreds turned for the concert at the Masaka Recreation grounds.

Meanwhile, prizes worth Ugx 1.5billion will be won by lucky customers in the eight week campaign.The prizes include 24 cars, 32 Boda bodas, 160 smartphones as well as mobile money.

The MoMo Nyabo promotion is part of a series of offers the telecom company has launched in recent times to reward customers including bonus on data bundle purchase via MTN Mobile Money and a few days ago, MTN slashed mobile money sending rates by more than half.

“This will be a double win for our customers. First of all, they will be sending money at half price. While doing that, they will be entered into a draw to win one of those exciting prizes. So in a way, all our customers will be winners”. Samuel Gitta, MTN Uganda’s Ag. GM Risk & Compliance said.

“We are continually evolving to make our customers’ lives better. We value and appreciate our customers and all that we are doing is just to give back to them for continuing to support us,” he added.

For customers to stand a chance to win one of the prizes, all they have to do is dial *165*1#. Customers will then automatically enter into a draw to win the exciting prizes.

By Our Reporter

Vivo Energy plc (Vivo Energy), the pan-African retailer and distributor of Shell and Engen-branded fuels and lubricants, has agreed to form a non-fuel joint venture to accelerate the roll-out of KFC restaurants in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. The 50:50 joint venture will manage and operate the restaurants in the three markets on behalf of Kuku Foods East Africa Holdings (Kuku Foods), who will remain the local KFC franchisee. Completion of this transaction is subject to standard legal agreements and regulatory and competition authority approval.

The restaurants, 22 in Kenya and 8 in Uganda, are located in shopping malls, city centre locations, and service stations. Kuku Foods plans to open its first KFC restaurant in Rwanda in 2019.

The 5 KFC restaurants operated by Kuku Foods Tanzania, the KFC franchisee in Tanzania, will not form part of the transaction.

The joint venture will enable a significant increase in the number of KFC restaurants in the portfolio in the coming years. It is envisaged that many of the new restaurants will be opened at Vivo Energy’s network of service stations across Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, which leverages Vivo Energy’s retail footprint, with more countries to be considered in the future, based on market opportunities.

Commenting on the transaction, Christian Chammas, CEO of Vivo Energy, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Kuku Foods to replicate the KFC joint venture model we pioneered in Botswana and Côte d’Ivoire. Kuku Foods shares our ambition to invest in order to grow the number of restaurants and give more African customers access to the internationally renowned KFC brand. This partnership further demonstrates our ambition to continue to offer more convenience to satisfy the evolving needs of our growing number of African customers.”

Derrick Van Houten, Group CEO of Kuku Foods and Principal Operator of the KFC franchises, added: “Having launched our first KFC in East Africa in 2011, we have successfully grown the business over the last eight years. We are delighted to announce this new partnership with Vivo Energy to continue this growth, bringing our world-renowned KFC products and experience to as many customers as possible.”

KFC Africa’s General Manager, Tarun Lal concluded: “We are delighted that KFC can leverage the joint venture entered into between Vivo Energy and Kuku Foods to continue to grow its network of KFC restaurants in Africa. We are confident that the KFC franchisee will continue to provide customers with a great KFC experience, driving improvements in customer
service and quality through its relationship with Vivo Energy.”