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Oliver Kazunga Senior Business Reporter
INNSCOR’S fast foods division is set to invest in excess of $3 million into the economy through its expansion project expected to create 150 new jobs.
The division, which owns outlets such as Chicken Inn, Pizza Inn, Bakers Inn, Fish Inn, Nandos, Steers, and Creamy Inn presently, employs 2,250 people across the country.
Innscor Zimbabwe chief executive officer Warren Meares told Business Chronicle that by December they would have opened their first Chicken Inn drive through in Bulawayo.
A similar outlet will also be rolled out in Harare next year.
Innscor’s fast foods division also has branches in Bulawayo, Harare, Mvuma, Gweru, Victoria Falls and Chiredzi among other places.
“We’ve set aside in excess of $3 million for our expansion projects. The first Chicken Inn drive through will be opened in Bulawayo by December and a similar outlet will also be opened in Harare next year. Our expansion project will also see us opening a branch in Hwange and adding another branch in Gweru soon,” he said.
Meares said his organisation would continue investing in Zimbabwe as the economy was bound to turnaround going forward.
“We’ll continue investing in the economy because things will definitely turn up despite the challenges being faced now. At the moment, we employ 2,250 people and through our latest expansion project we’re looking forward to adding 150 more jobs,” said Meares.
Recently, the fast foods division spent in excess of $1.5 million on expanding its operations in the Southern region. The investment saw the company opening new outlets in Chiredzi, Masvingo, Gwanda and Gweru.
Meanwhile, Innscor Africa Limited has announced plans to unbundle its quick service restaurant business, Simbisa Brands as well as listing it on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange to promote investment flexibility in the stand-alone entity. The conglomerate opened its inaugural quick service restaurant business, Chicken Inn outlet in Harare in 1987.
Since then, the quick service restaurant business has expanded to 170 outlets in Zimbabwe and 209 outlets in the region through the addition of new brands and the franchising of existing brands through third-party licences.
In 1998, Innscor listed on the ZSE, utilising the quick service restaurant business to spread its footprint into Africa as a diversified Pan-African operation. In the process quick service restaurants were opened in Zambia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana, Mauritius, Swaziland and Lesotho.
derick.khumalo