Zimbabwean restaurant group Simbisa Brands, the owner of Pizza Inn, Chicken Inn and Galito’s, has acquired the remaining 25% stake in its Kenyan delivery subsidiary, Kutuma Kenya, for approximately $664,000 (KSh85.8 million).
The transaction gives Simbisa complete ownership of a business that is becoming increasingly important to its operations as more Kenyans turn to online food ordering and home delivery.
Simbisa previously held a 75% stake in Kutuma, which operates Dial a Delivery, the platform handling orders for its restaurant brands. The company has now taken full control of the delivery business, according to its latest financial disclosures.
The acquisition comes as delivery sales account for a growing share of the group’s Kenyan business. Simbisa completed 3.23 million deliveries in Kenya in the financial year ended June 2026, up from 2.03 million in the previous year.
Delivery orders increased by 59%, while the value of goods sold through the channel rose to 27.4% of Kenyan turnover, compared with 21.7% a year earlier.
In its annual report, Simbisa said, “delivery channels continued to gain momentum, with delivery orders increasing by 59% compared to the prior year, further extending our customer reach and providing convenience.”
Building a delivery business beyond Pizza Inn
Kutuma’s operations extend beyond delivering meals from Simbisa-owned restaurants.
The company also operates Yum, an online marketplace connecting customers to restaurants and grocery stores in Nairobi, and Swyft, which provides delivery and logistics services to businesses.
This gives Simbisa an opportunity to turn an internal delivery operation into a broader logistics and e-commerce business serving independent restaurants, retailers and other merchants.
The strategy could also improve the economics of its delivery operations. By handling orders from multiple businesses, Kutuma can potentially increase rider utilisation, generate more deliveries and spread logistics costs across a larger customer base.
However, the expansion places it in competition with established platforms such as Glovo, Uber Eats and Bolt Food, which already serve Kenya’s online delivery market.
The exit of Jumia Food from Kenya in December 2023 also left room for other players to compete for restaurant and grocery delivery customers.
Kenya becomes an important delivery market
Simbisa’s investment reflects the growing commercial importance of Kenya to its regional operations.
During the 2026 financial year, the group’s Kenyan revenue increased by 11%, while operating profit rose by 16%. Customer volumes grew by 14%, despite average customer spending declining by 3% in US dollar terms.
The group ended the financial year with 257 outlets in Kenya, compared with 352 in Zimbabwe.
Interestingly, delivery accounted for only 5.1% of turnover in Zimbabwe, highlighting the greater contribution of the channel to Simbisa’s Kenyan business.
The company says it will continue investing in delivery and digital ordering where it sees attractive financial returns.
Taking full ownership of Kutuma is a bet that the future of restaurant growth will not depend solely on opening more outlets, but also on controlling how food reaches customers.