Ranked: Sub-Saharan Africa’s top five shopping centres

The Ikeja City Mall in Lagos, Nigeria.

The Ikeja City Mall in Lagos, Nigeria.

Sagaci Research, a market intelligence firm dedicated to African markets, recently released a report that ranks sub-Saharan Africa’s top five shopping centres based on their attractiveness for international tenants.

“In sub-Saharan Africa, several shopping centres located in Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya and Nigeria present high international standards and are ranked AA or A by Sagaci Research,” said the company in an emailed statement.

South African malls are not included in the ranking. Sagaci’s statement did not mention why South Africa was excluded, but the fact that the country’s property industry is much more developed than the rest of sub-Saharan Africa might be a reason.

Top five shopping centres in sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa) – based on shopping centre attractiveness for international brands
Name of mallCountryCityGross leasable area (sqm)Ranking
Sea PlazaSenegalDakar14,000AA
Cap SudIvory CoastAbidjan6,500A
Ikeja City MallNigeriaLagos22,650A
Polo Park MallNigeriaEnugu20,000A
The JunctionKenyaNairobi26,000A

The publication also provides an analysis of the presence of international tenants in African shopping centres. A selected number of European and US brands – including Bata, Celio, Aldo, KFC, Adidas, Nike, Mango, Etam – are present in leading shopping centres in North and West Africa. South African brands – such as Shoprite, Woolworths, Truworths, Mr Price – historically well positioned in Southern and East Africa, are increasingly entering West African markets and compete head-to-head with European and US brands.

“In the coming years, boosted by the emergence of a middle class and by the expansion of international brands, the total shopping centre surface should double… with 129 new shopping centres in project across the continent (including 17 in Egypt, 15 in Ghana, 14 in Zambia, 12 in Angola, 12 in Nigeria, 12 in Morocco). Beyond these projects, some countries such as Nigeria, Angola, Tanzania and Ethiopia remain very attractive for developers with an unmet demand of five to 20 shopping centres in each country between now and 2017,” Sagaci noted.