Charting the shapeshifting of Rwanda’s modern retail sector

Recently, a TV broadcast sponsored by the Rwanda Development Board and Visit Rwanda – aired on CNBC Africa – went behind the scenes to show just why the modern retail offering is taking off.  

For Alex Muganwa, co-founder of Sawa Citi Supermarket, this is just the beginning of a retail sector expansion that will support the future development of Rwanda by creating employment and training opportunities for a young population eager for job opportunities.  

Founded 13 years ago by Muganwa and his childhood friend, Theogene Kubwimana, Sawa Citi began with just 10 employees and now boasts a workforce of around 300. In April 2025, Sawa Citi opened the first Spar-branded store in the capital, Kigali.  

“This sector is going to be the number one employer in this country,” Muganwa said during an interview on the TV programme, noting that as Rwanda develops so too will the smaller general stores – or dukas – disappear.  

“More and more young people will choose to buy in convenient, modern trade,” he noted. This will attract international players who can help to further professionalise and modernise the nascent supermarket sector by injecting much-needed expertise and training into the ecosystem.  

Already, French supermarket group Coopérative U is set to open its first store in Kigali in 2026, with 10 more outlets planned for the subsequent five years. This will create 500 new jobs and comes with a pledge to support local suppliers and producers. 

Similarly, Muganwa and the likes of Samuel G. Teame, Deputy Manager: Simba Supermarket, and Alex Howe, co-founder of Deli Box Rwanda, have all adopted a stance of supporting made-in-Rwanda produce to ensure the development of national industries and agricultural businesses. 

Beefing up the local supply lines 

Founded 17 years ago, Simba Supermarket already dedicates aisles at its stores to Rwandan produce.  

This is a big drawcard, said Teame. While not all needs can be met locally, especially when it comes to fresh produce and luxury items like wine and olive oil, he emphasised that local supply chains are developing.  

“A lot of manufacturing in Rwanda is happening that allows those local producers to produce whatever product is being imported. It’s very good for the local economy,” he stated in the Rwanda Development Board/Visit Rwanda broadcast. “It allows us also to save dollars, or any foreign currency … to make sure that whatever we have available in Rwanda doesn’t have to be imported.” 

Find out more in the latest issue (Issue 4 2025) of Strategic Marketing for Africa – the voice of African marketing and the official publication of the African Marketing Confederation (AMC). Read it online here. A Print Edition is also available.