The local food industry is set to experience a major boost with the entrance of world renowned quick service restaurant, KFC. The company which is currently operating in eight African countries has recently opened its first store in the heart of Osu to provide services to the Ghanaian public. Speaking to Joy Business during the official opening of the first state of the art flagship restaurant in Ghana, the Managing Director in charge of Africa, Keith Warren, assured the public of quality service. He attributes the brands entering into new markets throughout Africa to the increasing economic growth and improved political stability on the continent. According to him, the company plans to go to the rest of the African continent. “We are very excited about what we have been able to do in Accra, with our store opening on Oxford Street in Osu because is such a wonderful asset that’s created such fantastic opportunity for the Ghanaian people. All our employees are Ghanaians and we are going to be developing this business in Ghana,” he said. He said the company has plans of opening two additional restaurants by the end of the year so they can continue to build their brand, engage and partner with Ghanaian industry, Ghanaian agriculture, Ghanaian people and Ghanaian government. Meanwhile Executive Director of the Mohinani group, owners of the KFC franchise in Ghana, Ashok Mohinani, explains that the company decided to invest in Ghana because it intends to divesting from their main packaging and retail business. “We thought the food sector had scope in analyzing everything, we felt the restaurant business, the quick service restaurant was a scope. In our research we decided if we were going to do anything we are going to make sure it’s done properly and with a decent brand so we started looking with yum and it took as two and a half years to get here and that’s after all analysis, we felt they were the best partners for us,” Mr Mohinani indicated. He indicted KFC will be able to establish a strong presence in the country. “We are going to change the way the people eat here and the systems in place. A lot of backward integration in trying to make sure a lot of the ingredients are grown locally and we working with the authorities to try and make sure that we improve the standards and also change the way people think. The aim is to open twenty two in five years,” he said. Yum, the holding company for KFC is the world’s largest restaurant company in terms of restaurants numbers with nearly 38,000 restaurants in over 110 countries and territories.