By Prudence Minayo
Most African countries have achieved immense economic growth over the last few years. Local and international investors are lining up to invest in Africa. To tap in the emergence of a growing middle class eager to shop and have fun, big time investors are putting their money in ‘Malls’.
Below is a list of some of Africa’s largest malls.
Mall of Arabia Cairo
This is the first unconventional mall of its kind in Africa. Located in 6th of November along the El Wahat Road, the mall rolls out on a vast area of 147.95 acres (621,401 sqm). The Mall of Arabia is envisaged as a family destination and rightly so as an ideal design for social interaction at the Mall’s park.
It has a series of retail stores that offer premium local and international brands. It offers an unrivalled variety of culinary delights , an entertaining cinema park and a Billy Beez, Flip-out and bricks city for kids to play safely, as parents go about their activities.
Gateway Theatre of Shopping
According to their website they are the ultimate fashion, entertainment and dining destination in Durban with over 430+ stores, 70 eateries and a host of other entertainment spots.
The mall has popular South Africa retailers, as well as popular international brands, such as, Forever New, Zara, cotton on, Superdry, Gant and everything in between. It also features an 18 cinema Ster Kinekor Complex, IMAX Theatre, Funtubbles Family Funfair, Electric Avenue bowling, Action Karting, be.UP park and many other offerings.
The mall lies on a floor of 186,526 square meters and is located in South Africa.
Morocco Mall
This is an award winning mall considered to be the largest in Central Africa with a floor space of 190,000 sq meters in Casablanca, Morocco. The mall features a massive 1,000,000 ltr aquarium that contains over 40 different species of fish. Visitors can do scuba driving with a professional instructor at the aquarium.
The mall is also home to many stores and a variety of brands.
It has won the following awards:
- 2012 ICSE-Design & Development (Gold).
- 2012 MIPIM-Best Shopping Center.
- 2012 MAPIC-Best Retail & Leisure Development.
- 2012 Global RLI Awards-Most innovative Retail & Leisure Concept
- The Largest in-store shop façade- Guinness World Records
- 2011 Africa Property Awards-Best Retail Development Morocco
Menlyn Mall
The mall is located in Pretoria, South Africa and has a floor space if 177,000 sq meters. It has over 500 stores, 16 parking entrance, 12 parking exits and 8,250 parking bays. It is one of the best places to shop and contains a number of international brands, including: Zara, H n M, Cotton Out and Forever New
Cairo Festival City
The mall is located East of the Ring road and is a super-regional shopping mall that features over 300 shops and restaurants anchored by a hypermarket and furniture flagship store, all served by over 6,509 parking spaces.
It is home to the Marquee theatre which is a 1600-seats art and performance venue built to international standards-designed to host international and local arts performance, concerts and display covering every genre of the arts
Canal Walk Mall
Canal Mall is considered the third largest mall in Africa, according to Wikipedia. Built in what the developers call ‘cape Venetia architecture,’ the shopping center hosts over 400 stores, 7,000 parking bays, numerous restaurants, 20 cinemas plus a game arcade.
Mall of Africa
This is a shopping mall located in Waterfall City, Midrand, Gauteng. It is the largest single-phase shopping mall to be built in Africa. The total retail area is 131,000 square meters, a gross area of 550 000 square meters. It has two main levels of shopping and an outdoor restaurant plaza which connects directly to the waterfall city park.
Sandton City
The mall is located in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa. It opened its doors to the public in 1973. It has about 300 stores which include international chains and market leaders like Vuitton and Apple, coupled with local boutiques, specialty stores and an enormous variety of coffee shops. The eateries range from quick-stop fast food chains to fast food establishments that offer some of the finest styles and creations in the country.
Two Rivers Mall
Two rivers is touted the best mall in East Africa. Located in Ruaka, the mall consists of medium density residential homes, office blocks, a shopping center, as well as three star and five star hotels. It also houses the French retailer Carrefour, Hugo Boss and Nike among other international brands. The mall also unveiled the largest ferry’s wheel in Africa in 2019 and has hundreds of stores.
