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Uchumi Supermarkets, one of the largest retailers in East Africa, is considering starting operations in Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Democratic Republic of Congo.

The company, which operates over 30 outlets in Kenya, has been re-organizing its East African operations, closing loss-making outlets in Uganda and Tanzania.

“Congo is a very interesting country and we could possibly extend our footprint there,” Uchumi’s Chief Executive, Julius Kipng’etich, told shareholders on Wednesday in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. “Nigeria, their retail industry is not as well developed and that presents opportunities.”

According to Bloomberg, Uchumi went into receivership in June 2006 with debts of about 2.2 billion shillings (about $22 million). Uchumi’s creditors lifted the receivership in March 2010 and the company’s shares resumed trading on the Kenyan stock exchange on May 31st, 2011.

In June 2015, Uchumi posted losses of 3.42 billion shillings (about $32 million), prompting the company’s board to sack its then-Chief Executive Officer, Jonathan Ciano. Kipng’etich, a former bank executive, was named chief executive in August last year.

Fuelled by a growing middle class, Nigeria’s retail industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the country’s $569 billion economy. McKinsey, the global consulting firm, estimates that Nigeria’s retail consumption stands at $388 billion per year and could rise to $1.4 trillion by 2030.

Although most retailing in Nigeria is dominated by corner shops, modern retailing – with large supermarkets in shopping malls – has expanded across most cities.

Uchumi will be competing in the Nigerian retail sector with South Africa’s Shoprite – which currently has 16 outlets across Nigeria – and the Netherlands’s Spar, which has seven outlets in the country.

Nigeria’s e-commerce industry is also fast-growing with hordes of online retail companies – with major brands such as Jumia and Konga – which have an estimated turnover of about $600 million, annually.

Chibuike Oguh is Financial Nigeria's Frontier Markets Analyst