KENYA – Eat’N’Go limited, Quick Service Restaurant operator in Africa, has opened its first Cold Stone store in Kenya after acquisition of the franchisee.
The opening of the outlet shows the company’s commitment in growing its business in the new market.
The master franchisee for Domino’s Pizza, Cold Stone Creamery, and Pinkberry Gourmet Frozen Yoghurt, announced its expansion into the East African market in April last year.
The move provided the previously West African focused entity an opportunity to become a Pan African company, with a total number of over 150 outlets across Africa and largest Domino’s pizza and Cold Stone Creamery Master Franchisee in the region.
“It is a very happy day for team Eat’N’Go Kenya as we open our first new Cold Stone store after acquiring the company.
“It has been a long year integrating the business into Eat’N’Go Africa. We are looking forward a lot more growth in Kenya,” said Patrick McMichael, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Eat’N’Go Ltd.
Meanwhile in Zimbabwe, Portuguese restaurant chain, Chicken Hut, opened its first branch in Bulawayo under a US$500, 000 investment.
According to reports by Chronicle, the store is the fast-food chain’s 6th branch in the country with the other outlets located in Harare, Kwekwe, Gweru and Victoria Falls.
The restaurant’s spokesperson Mr Thandolwenkosi Dube, revealed that his organization had been on an expansion drive before Covid-19 took its toll.
“However, we are optimistic about 2022 and thus we have started the year with the opening of a branch in Bulawayo,” said Mr Dube.
The quick service food outlet expects to open 12 more branches this year in major cities and towns such as Beitbridge, Mutare, Chinhoyi and Harare.
Financial wellness platform NowPay partners food service providers
In other related news, NowPay, Egypt’s leading financial wellness platform has announced partnerships with some of the world’s biggest names in the food and beverages sector, including McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Kraft Heinz, Americana Group, Edita and Wadi Group.
NowPay enables employees to receive salary advances at any time – encouraging financial wellness.
Employees can request up to 80% of their salary, in advance, at any time. The platform currently serves hundreds of companies across Real Estate, Manufacturing, Tech, Retail, F&B and most verticals enabling it to extend its services to hundreds of thousands of employees.
It currently manages around 8,000,000,000+ EGP (8 billion) in salaries, with 100% corporate retention rate.
Employees can simply request and cancel transactions via NowPay’s mobile app. The platform is free for corporations and removes the hassle of handling corporate loans.
“We are thrilled to partner with some of the world’s most famous brands in food and beverages – it is an amazing endorsement of NowPay.
“More than ever, employees are anxious about their finances whilst employers want to improve staff retention. These partnerships will add over 21,000 employees to NowPay’s reach and market dominance, and help employees manage their savings and expenses more efficiently.” Mostafa Ashour, CEO of NowPay said.
There is a significant market and demand for salary advances, which is growing rapidly. The MENA labour force totals 152 million people and the pandemic has contributed significantly to financial anxiety suffered by employees.
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