Written by Kate Douglas | From How We Made It In Africa
Choppies is a multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer that was born and bred in Botswana. Over the last 15 years the company has grown from having just two stores, to over 120 in three southern African countries.
The retailer expanded into South Africa towards the end of 2008, and most recently into Zimbabwe in 2013. It is also now Botswana’s largest retailer, and its success won it the Transformational Business Award at the 2014 Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship.
Seeing opportunity in Zimbabwe
Within just 18 months of operating in Zimbabwe, Choppies has already grown to 18 stores, with the company seeing potential to expand to over 30 this year. According to its CEO, Ramachandran (Ram) Ottapathu, the decision to venture into Zimbabwe was partly based on the fact that competition in the market is slim.
The country’s recent history of political and economic instability has lowered investor confidence and resulted in multinationals being more cautious about entering the country.
Read more at How We Made It In Africa
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