Orca Decor Managing Partner Rayan Sharara says Zambia has given his company a good environment for business, hence its expansion into the Copperbelt Province.

And the Mayor of Kitwe Christopher Kang’ombe said the opening of Orca Deco, a one-stop modern furniture store, in the city is part of the transformation embarked on.

At the official opening of the Kitwe outlet, Thursday, Sharara said the expansion into the Copperbelt was just the beginning of their plans to open branches in other parts of the country.

“We are excited to be answering the numerous calls by the Copperbelt people who have for years been asking us to open a store here. We are happy to be contributing to employment in Zambia through our expansion drive. We love Zambia. As soon as we came, one year after, we invested a few million dollars in a new store. And today, five years later, we have continued to invest and creating jobs for Zambians. Why Zambia? I think Zambia has always given us a good environment for business,” said Sharara. “Today, we decided to choose Kitwe but next year, it might be Solwezi, the year after, it might be Livingstone…”

Orca Deco currently employees over 200 Zambians and plans to double this figure in a couple of years. For the Kitwe store alone, 60 jobs have been created.

And Kang’ombe said Kitwe is undergoing some major transformation.

“The city, as we all know, is undergoing major road works. If you came into Kitwe five years ago and you come into Kitwe in the next four months, you will find a totally different Kitwe. The outlook of the city is changing and when we change the outlook of the city, there are other things we need to do. And obviously the other things include attracting companies such as Orca Deco to invest into the city, provide furniture which obviously people will be very excited to see. I saw the excitement out there, which shows that a strong brand like Orca Deco wants to do business in the city,” Kang’ombe said.

“Kitwe is at the centre of the province and I think that we are ready to support this nature of business. Ultimately, I am excited as mayor because this is part of the transformation we have been talking about; the ability to change the physical outlook of the city and to also be able to bring in different businesses to invest in the city.”