Shoprite exits Ghana and Malawi, focuses on South Africa

Grüezi,

Victoria from Techpoint here,

Here’s what I’ve got for you today:

Shoprite exits Ghana and Malawi, focuses on SA
Africa’s exit boom has a transparency problem
Airtel challenges MTN with 38MW data centre

Shoprite exits Ghana and Malawi, focuses on South Africa

Shoprite Holdings is calling it quits in Ghana and Malawi, marking its seventh exit from African markets outside its home base. The South African retail giant is now doubling down on what it knows best — its core operations back home. After years of trying to crack markets across the continent, the company is shifting focus to where it sees better profitability and control.

Shoprite had previously pulled out of Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, the DRC, and Madagascar. Now, it’s wrapping up operations in Malawi, pending regulatory approval, and has a serious buyer lined up for its stores and warehouse in Ghana. The company cited tough trading conditions, continuous losses, and rising operational costs for these moves.

It’s not just Shoprite. Other South African players have been quietly making their way out too. Massmart (owned by Walmart) shut down Game stores in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria. Builders Warehouse also closed its Nairobi outlet. Even Pick n Pay pulled out of Nigeria in late 2024, while Tiger Brands backed out of Kenya’s Haco Industries. The dream of pan-African retail empires is clearly losing steam.

What’s behind this retreat? A mix of steep inflation, currency volatility, dollar-based leases, costly import duties, and the struggle to localise effectively. These pressures have made it hard to run profitable operations in many African countries, especially where regulations are tricky and logistics are unpredictable.

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Back home, however, Shoprite is doing just fine. In July 2024, the company launched a new online wholesale platform under its Cash & Carry brand in South Africa. The service targets spaza shops and small businesses, offering bulk delivery within a 50km radius.

What’s more, the company expects group sales to climb nearly 9% compared to the previous year, rising from around R231 billion in 2024 to over R252 billion (about $14 billion) in 2025. That’s a strong incentive to stick to familiar turf where the numbers continue to add up.

Africa’s exit boom has a transparency problem

Everyone in African tech keeps talking about exits, but no one’s saying what they’re really worth.

Sure, we’ve had headline-making deals like Paystack, InstaDeep and Expensya. But in between these big splashes are dozens of smaller acquisitions that quietly change hands with zero numbers shared. Take CreditChek buying CreditCliq, or C-One Ventures scooping up Bankly. Cool moves, but try asking how much? You’ll likely get a polite “We’d rather not say” or silence.

Now, to be fair, no law says private companies have to disclose their exit numbers. And focusing on the strategic value of a deal rather than just the cash involved? That’s not a bad thing. But the silence can backfire. No numbers means no data. And no data means it’s harder for investors, founders, and even journalists to track what’s working — or not — in Africa’s startup scene.

Christophe Viarnaud, founder of AfricArena, says this secrecy isn’t just an African thing. But because Africa has fewer exits to begin with, every undisclosed deal hits harder. Worse still, the hush-hush approach usually starts with the buyer. “Most times, the acquirer doesn’t want the numbers out,” he explains. “It’s not up to the startup.”

Tolu Adedayo, whose company Vella Finance got acquired by Carbon earlier this year, says the same. “If the person buying you wants to keep it quiet and makes you sign an NDA, that’s it. You can’t say anything.”

So why does this culture of secrecy persist, even when no NDA is involved? Sometimes it’s fear. Sometimes it’s humility. Other times, it’s just not wanting to draw unnecessary attention. But whatever the reason, it leaves a gap that’s hard to fill.

Want to understand what this lack of transparency really means for Africa’s startup ecosystem? Read Chimgozirim’s full piece here.

Airtel challenges MTN with 38MW data centre

Airtel Nigeria is coming for MTN’s cloud crown, and it’s not playing small. The telco just announced plans to build what it’s calling Nigeria’s largest data centre, taking direct aim at MTN’s new $235 million Sifiso Dabengwa Data Centre in Lagos.

Speaking at a recent media briefing, Airtel’s CEO Dinesh Balsingh and Director of Airtel Business, Ogo Ofomata, said the new hyperscale facility will have an IT load of 38 megawatts. That’s more than eight times the current capacity of MTN’s 4.5 MW setup, which only plans to scale up to 9 MW in future phases.

“We don’t want to start small,” Ofomata said. “We’re building for the kind of server loads modern infrastructure demands.” The data centre, located in Eko Atlantic, is being positioned not just to rival MTN, but to compete with global giants like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.

But unlike MTN, whose data centre is geared more towards local cloud hosting, Airtel says its focus is squarely on artificial intelligence. “Data centres are actually for AI,” Balsingh explained, adding that they’ve already started installing GPU servers, which pack 100x more computing power than regular ones.

The Eko Atlantic location was also a deliberate move, citing stronger security and reliable power supply. And with plans to start rack power at 6 kilowatts (way above the typical 1.5), Airtel seems to be betting on heavier, more advanced use cases from day one.

MTN may have gotten the early spotlight, but with Airtel stepping in, Nigeria’s data centre wars are heating up fast. If anything, customers, from startups to enterprises, may just end up the real winners.

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