Mega City Mall is a one of the modern and largest shopping complex in Kisumu city.
Located on the east side, along the Kisumu-Busia road, the city within a city provides a wide variety of services, from shopping, eateries, banking, chemists and more. The Nairobi-based retail giant, Nakumatt is the anchor tenant.
Businesses in the Mega City Mall Kisumu
Many people that have been to this mall have considered it to be a city within a city. The mall is a hallmark of several unique and quality showrooms, high-end boutique shops, quality hotel, medical facilities, fuel station, educational campuses along with several recreational and entertainment facilities. All these have made one of the largest malls in Kisumu, an excellent one stop shopping complex in the Nyanza region.
Mega City Mall is strategically located along a major road and designed to accommodate all types of businesses and customers, something that makes it popular with many investors. It is approximately 2 kilometers from Kisumu’s CBD and 5 kilometers from the airport.
Established in 2005, the mall has gradually and still expanding to provide visitors with a fully-fledged shopping experience, that includes recreational and entertainment facilities. Other than that, its expansion plan includes two high-rise towers, retail space, apartments, and offices. Being the heartbeat of the lakeside city, Mega City Mall offers it visitors with a wide variety of services which mainly includes, retail, information, and communication. On weekdays, the mall’s footfall is about 15000 to 20000 people while on weekends its footfall is approximately 20000 to 25000 people.
One of the main businesses is the Nakumatt Mega City Kisumu, and the Vic Hotel which is a unique and impressive home-away from home. The 106 luxurious rooms Vic hotel in Kisumu provides a wide range of services, including conference facilities, accommodation, great food and others.
Features and facilities in Mega City Mall Kisumu
Sitting on a 15-acre land, and occupying a built up space of more than 600000 square feet, the mall has some unique feature which includes;
- Housing the largest Nakumatt Supermarket which occupies more than 127000 square feet.
- The Mega City Mall has a standby backup generator
- Perfectly secured with CCTV surveillance
- Efficient fire alarm system in place
- Simple Nu-lite Glass Balustrades for safety on railings.
- Clean and decent restroom facilities
- An ample parking that can accommodate approximately 500 vehicles
- Spacious children’s playing facilities
- Two frontal, and back entrances and with wide fire exit points
- There is a borehole water facility in place
- Two digital cinema theaters which attracts visitors from the surrounding region
- Dedicated in-house technical team for maintenance and other services.
Role of Mega City Mall in the importation of goods and services in Kisumu City
Mega City Mall is considered to be more than just a market for goods and services. The mall has an important end point for products that are originating from outside Kisumu as well as from distant places such as South Africa.
In the past, the local community of Kisumu traded with the neighbors and exchanged goods for goods. Over time, however, especially after the Kenya- Uganda Railway was constructed, Kisumu started to trade with other countries particularly those from Europe, Asia, as well as other African countries. The railway provided Kisumu with this opportunity to transport products through the Mombasa port. Therefore, the Mombasa port was the gateway for goods and services between Kisumu and the outside world.
Trade between South Africa and Kisumu has consistently continued to thrive. Many products produced in South Africa have been finding their way to Kenya, and particularly into Kisumu city. Some of the products that business people from Kisumu imports from South Africa includes grapes, apples, Kiwi fruits, dates, mandarins, yellow lemons, cranberries, oranges, among other types of fruits. Other than fruits Kisumu also receives wines, spirits, eggs, cars, food supplements, and jewelry from South Africa.
When these products arrive in Kisumu from South Africa, most supplies prefer bringing them to Mega City Mall. The mall, in turn, plays a crucial role in supplying these goods, and commodities to Kisumu as a whole. Currently, with the help of Mega City Mall, Kisumu markets are flooded with manufactured products and goods from South Africa. These include; electronics, second-hand clothes, wheat, wine as well as automobiles.
Other large Malls in Kisumu and its environs
The West End Mall
The West End Mall in Kisumu houses Uchumi supermarket, Java house, wine shop, Opulent store, Woolworths, Samsung showroom, TACC store Creambell, among others. The tastefully designated mall also houses Kenya Airways Nyanza and western Kenya regional headquarters. Banks in the West End Mall in Kisumu include the Diamond trust Bank (DTB). Visitors here can dine at the Acacia Premier hotel which is epitome of business and luxury.
The Lake Basin Mall in Kisumu
The Lake Basin Mall is conveniently located near Mambolea junction that is along Kisumu- Kakamega highway. The LBDA mall owners are the Lake Basin Development Authority which was funded by the Co-Operative Bank of Kenya. Construction of this mall was completed in August 2015 and occupies 27000 square meters and more than more than 300 vehicles. It houses a regional resource center and over 1000 housing units in the Kisumu City. The lake basin mall is located just 3 kilometers from Kisumu CBD and 3.5 Kilometers from the United Mall.
United Mall in Kisumu
United Mall is also located along the Kisumu – Kakamega road about 3.5 Kilometers from the Lake Basin Mall. The United Mall is among the largest malls in Kisumu city, and it houses Tuskys supermarket among other outlets. It has an ample parking, entertainment and recreation facilities. In addition, the mall has adequate security which is boosted by the presence of CCTV cameras.
Tuff foam mall in Kisumu
Tuff foam mall has a modern architecture. The mall houses boutiques, food court, and service industries. Tuff foam mall also houses retails shops, coffee shops, and banks. Some banks that are found at Tuff foam mall include; the National Bank and the Standard Chartered Bank.
The mall is owned by the Tuff foam mattresses company.
Mega Plaza Mall
Located in Kisumu’s CBD, Mega Plaza Mall sits on a 1.8-acre land and occupies a beautiful built up space of close to 250,000 square feet. During weekdays the footfall of Mega Plaza Mall averages 27500 people while during weekends the footfall is averagely 37500 people. The Mega Plaza plaza shops operate round the clock. The building is also considered flexible and convenient for walk in customers. Not only is Mega Plaza the tallest tower in Kisumu, but in the entire western region of the country. One of tower has 17 storey while the other tower has 16 storey.
The Mega Plaza was developed by the same owner of the Mega City Mall.