The first Pizza Hut in Ethiopia opened yesterday, operated by Belayab Foods and Franchises. The first branch is in the CMC area of Addis Ababa with a  second branch in the Bole Medhanialem area due to open on Saturday 14th April.

Pizza Hut has launched its first restaurant in Ethiopia, having announced its intention to enter the country in mid-2017. The first outlet was originally due to open in November 2017.  The company will open a second restaurant this week, also in Addis Ababa. A third Pizza Hut branch is due to be opened in the Old Airport area within the next three months.

As part of the launch process, Pizza Hut Ethiopia has sent several employees to train abroad at existing restaurants to become familiar with the brand. Belayab Foods and Franchises and Pizza Hut brand owner Yum! Restaurants International Inc. signed the franchise agreement for 20 years, which will be renewed by the end of the first 10 years. Belayab Foods and Franchises has invested $5.5m for the launch of the Pizza Hut brand in Ethiopia. The initial target is to open 10 outlets.

As part of the franchise agreement, Belayab Foods and Franchises will source its ingredients from Yum! Restaurants International Inc.. However, Belayab Foods and Franchises aims to source 20% of the ingredients it uses from domestic suppliers.

Although there are some regional franchise restaurants in Addis Ababa, Pizza Hut is the first global brand to open a restaurant in Ethiopia. The new restaurants’ biggest competitors will be Debonairs Pizza, which is Africa’s biggest pizza chain. It has 500 branches throughout the continent and one in the Bole area of Addis Ababa.

Pizza Hut first entered the African market in South Africa in 2014 and now has restaurants in Kenya, Egypt, Zambia and Mozambique. The company has 13,728 locations worldwide as well as 1,903 in China under the Yum! China division.