As part of a major drive to tap into the growth of Africa’s middle classes, French distribution group Comptoir Francais de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (CFAO), has recently opened its first shopping mall which is a $66 million center in Ivory Coast’s commercial capital Abidjan.
The mall, which was built in collaboration with French retailer Carrefour, is the first of 80 that CFAO plans to open in eight countries in West and Central Africa in the next decade.
The company is active in the vehicle, pharmaceutical and computer sectors and is 97 percent owned by Japanese company Toyota Tsusho Corp.
Director General CFAO Richard Bielle said “We estimate that in 2040, 250 million Africans will have sufficient income to … consume. It’s precisely to accompany this formidable growth of this middle class that CFAO is looking to open 80 centers”.
The mall will contain 50 stores, a bank and a Burger King. It will also help develop the agricultural sector, as 170 small Ivorian companies will be contracted as suppliers.
Ivory Coast is the world’s top cocoa grower and the leading economy in French-speaking West Africa. Some 20 percent of Abidjan’s 5 million residents are considered middle class, and CFAO plans to open a dozen smaller malls there.
