Newly opened KFC in Senegal becomes first franchise chain to have female-only staff [Photos]

Popular American fast food restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) opened its very first branch in Dakar, Senegal, over the weekend in what was a very memorable event.

The inauguration ceremony saw popular personalities including the son of President Macky Sall, former footballer El Hadji Diouf and legendary musician Youssou Ndour attending.

With several franchises across the continent, what makes this newly opened chain peculiar and uniquely different from the others is its all-female staff. According to Dakaractu.com, the restaurant, which is nicknamed the “First Lady Store” has over 60 women on its payroll.

This move, according to Anta Babacar Ngom, who is a partner and representative of KFC Senegal intends to place value in Senegalese women “by injecting them with dynamism and initiative.” Another branch set to be opened soon in the West African country also intends to have 40% disabled staff, Dakaractu.com further reports.

This initiative comes in the wake of some African companies pushing to have a balanced staff in their bids to champion inclusivity and gender balance.

A few months ago, Ethiopia’s largest commercial bank, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), opened an all-female branch in Addis Ababa. At the inauguration, the CEO of CBE, Ato Bacha Gina highlighted the important roles women play in the economy and the need to spotlight them.

“Women have been under-represented until recently in all sectors of the economy despite their enormous contribution to the economy,” he said in a statement.

“Empowering women to take part in all economic sectors is essential to achieve development objectives,” he added.

Gina also revealed the bank’s plans of opening more all-female branches in major regional states and also announced the bank’s intentions of launching an exclusive credit facility for women aimed at promoting women entrepreneurship, the statement further disclosed.

To celebrate International Women’s Day this year, an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa to Stockholm and Oslo was also managed by an all-women flight crew. The historic flight was operated by Ethiopian Airlines women professionals from flight deck all the way to the ground.

In other words, the airport operations, flight dispatch, load control, ramp operation, onboard logistics, safety and security, catering as well as air traffic control, was carried out entirely by women, reports the ENA.

Take a look at some photos of the inauguration ceremony of the female staff only KFC restaurant below: