Burger King looks to expand in sub-Saharan Africa

Burger King is in talks to open restaurants in sub-Saharan African countries, including Nigeria, as the US fast-food group accelerates its international expansion to compete better with rival McDonald's.

Daniel Schwartz, chief executive of parent company Restaurant Brands International (RBI), said the world's second-biggest hamburger chain was "significantly under-penetrated" in the continent, where it had a "huge opportunity".

Burger King is one of many global companies drawn to Africa’s demographics. The UN predicts that the world’s 10 fastest-growing cities between 2018 and 2035 will be in the continent. With a median age of 19, Africa’s population is expected to double to more than 2 billion by 2050 and to double again by the end of the century.

Burger King, majority owned by the Brazilian private equity group 3G via Toronto-based RBI, is adding about two or three restaurants a day globally. Openings are expected to come in at about 1,000 this year, up from little more than 600 in 2015.

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Most of the new foreign stores will be in Asia and Europe. The hamburger chain has opened about 600 restaurants in Russia from a standing start eight years ago, and is on track to open its 1,000th outlet in China by the end of the year. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2018