Tuskys, Kenya’s second-largest retailer, recently began franchising as part of an expansion strategy to reach out and assist small businesses.

Created in the early 1980s, the family-owned supermarket has 52 stores in Kenya and seven in Uganda. Each Tuskys store tends to be located near a bus terminal in order to grant customers easy access to both groceries and public transportation.

However, the new expansion strategy allows the supermarket chain to be even closer to customers in Kenya through the use of a franchising model, which will rebrand and trade independent shops as Tuskys outlets.

“There is someone who is running a successful retail business in Kibera and all they need is a bit of support to make their business more modern, support to access a wider range of products from manufacturers and to better engage with customers,” CEO Dan Githua says. “We can give that to the retailer as …