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Kampala city among fastest growing urban areas in Africa
Inside Acacia Mall, Kampala. File photo
What you need to know:
Reason. A growing middle class is one of the factors for growth.
Kampala. A new shopping centre report released this month by Knight Frank has ranked Kampala among the fastest growing cities in Africa.
The Shop Africa Report states that Africa’s population has more than doubled over the last 30 years to just over 1.1 billion and projects urban dwellers as the majority on the continent by 2040.
According to the report, Kampala has 128,000 square metres of shopping space in the pipeline.
Real estate developers are building one-stop centres where people can shop, work and live in the same place.
“At a population of 1.9 million, Kampala has an existing mall space of 182,000 sq. metres occupied by already opened malls. Garden City Shopping Mall stands at 25,000 sq. m, and Acacia Mall with 16,316 sq. m, with an additional space of 128,000 sq. m in the pipeline to be created by ongoing developments. Kingdom Kampala Mall has 42,000 sq. m and the Pearl Marina Estate Shopping Arcade has 20,000 sq. m,” the report reads in part.
Expansion to suburbs
Malls have in the recent past expanded to the suburbs to tap into the population. Capital Shoppers City, the largest locally-owned supermarket chain in Uganda, has opened shop at Ntinda, with quality shopping malls spread across Ntinda, Namugongo and Lubowa city suburbs.
The report also states that, “Over the long term, shopping centre development will go hand-in-hand with Africa’s increased urbanisation and economic growth. As the sector grows and competition between retail schemes intensifies, developers will increasingly look for opportunities outside of the current hotspots and turn their attention to second and third tier cities, playing a major role in shaping the future landscapes of African cities.”
The report, which studied 47 African countries excluding South Africa which is estimated to have 23 million square metres of shopping centre space, cited Kampala, Dar es Salaam and Lusaka among the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the world.
The continent is experiencing a wave of modern mall development, a trend underpinned by long term economic and demographic growth which is the fastest than any other region in the world.
Growing middle class
The African Development Bank estimates Africa’s middle class at 350 million.
Within this group are brand conscious technology savvy consumers who demand access to the increasingly sophisticated retail formats offered by the new wave of shopping malls.
