Pizza Hut, a division of Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM), entered the African market in September 2014 by opening its first store in South Africa. The Pizza Hut Africa team, gathered today in Addis Ababa with its new franchise partner, Aschalew Belay, to celebrate the future entry of the Pizza Hut brand in Ethiopia. Pizza Hut and Mr. Belay plan to introduce Ethiopians to the Pizza Hut brand within the next 6 months. Pizza Hut is the world’s largest pizza chain with more than 16,000 restaurants in over 100 countries worldwide.

General Manager of Pizza Hut Africa, Ewan Davenport, who is based in South Africa, said, “We are honored and excited to bring Pizza Hut to Ethiopia in the near future, and continue to add great partners to our African adventure. There has never been a more exciting time to be a part of the Pizza Hut family. We continue to strive to be the most-loved and fastest-growing pizza restaurant company in the world and look forward to continuing to share our high-quality, affordable pizzas made by our passionate team members with consumers throughout Africa.” Pizza Hut has more than 180 restaurants throughout the African continent.

“Ethiopia, has grown significantly in recent years, and it is a major opportunity to bring this world-renowned brand to the Ethiopian consumer, with their unique deep Pan Pizza base, fresh ingredients, and the abundance of pizza toppings, there is no doubt that Pizza Hut will be successful in Ethiopia,” said Aschalaew Belay, sharing his enthusiasm for the Pizza Hut partnership.

Michael Ghebru, Senior Adviser and shareholder of the upcoming project added, “Pizza Hut’s recent success and entry into Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda make us quite excited to introduce the first major restaurant franchise into Ethiopia.”

Source: Press Release Sent to 2Merkato