Africa’s largest food retailer, Shoprite, has exited the Nigerian market 16 years after it opened its first outlet.

With the acquisition, Shoprite will be changing its strategy ‘from an ownership model to a franchise model’, Ketron Investments Limited said in a statement.

Tayo Amusan, Ketron’s chairman, said that the acquisition has been approved by Nigeria’s federal competition and consumer protection commission.

Amusan said:

“We look forward to building an even stronger company following our acquisition.”

Shoprite, which operates 2,843 supermarkets in 15 countries, serving 35 million customers in Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, has struggled with supply-chain disruptions and repatriation of funds – both familiar problems to foreign businesses in the Nigerian market.

In August 2020, Shoprite hinted that its business in Nigeria which operated under Retail Supermarkets Nigeria Limited “may be classified as a discontinued operation.”

The retailer operated 25 outlets in eight states across Africa’s biggest economy but had been struggling with disruptions.

However, Ketron said it plans to keep opening new outlets and display more Nigerian-made products.