After successfully opening the Achimota Retail Centre, the developer—AttAfrica is now focusing on its new mall in Kumasi.
“As for Kumasi, we are in full swing in construction and we are looking to open by the 1st Quarter of 2017,” Elizabeth Haskins, Marketing & Communications Executive for AttAfrica told Business World.
This October Attafrica opened its third A-grade shopping Centre, the Achimota Mall. AttAfrica is the same investor behind the Accra and West Hills Mall. “The buzz at Achimota retail centre has been terrific and we are happy to see that the residents near Achimota have a great asset in their suburb,” Haskins said.
“We are bringing international level developments to Ghana and are giving Ghanaians the chance to experience such retail centres without having to go overseas. We are bringing the shopping experience nearer to where the shoppers live,” she elaborated on their A-grade shopping centres.
Again, October was also the first anniversary of the West Hills Mall. And how has the West Hills Mall fared in one year?
“We opened West Hills Mall at the end of October 2014 and just in the midst of the downword spiral in commodity prices which has had a major impact on economic growth of a number of African countries including Ghana. The power shortage in Ghana has not been helpful either. However, we have managed to create brand awareness for West Hills Mall with foot traffic reaching half a million per month and progressing upwards,” Haskins continued.
“West Hills has had a slower than expected start due to the slowing of the Ghanaian economy, but is progressing well to be The Regional Mall in the Western Suburbs of Accra. We understand that another retail centres that opened in the Eastern Suburb also had a slow start. This is normal and we are working together with our team, our tenants (being the retailers) and other stakeholders to ensure that West Hills Mall can grow well over the next couple of years,” she elaborated.
AttAfrica said it invested in Ghana because a lot was going for it as a country, politically stable, well-educated workforce, consistent economic growth story (although the last 12 months have been slower than previous times), ease of doing business and good government policies to attract foreign direct investment. We are today very entrenched in Ghana from an investment point of view and also have a full-time team on the ground.
So what will be the next destination after the Kumasi Mall?
“With Accra Mall, West Hills Mall, Achimota Retail Centre and Kumasi Mall, we have a big portfolio in Ghana and would look at other potential developments on an opportunistic basis,” Haskins told Business world.
Nevertheless, AttAfrica is looking beyond Ghana and Zambia where most of its investments are into Nigeria, Kenya and some selected countries in Francophone Africa.