Q&A with Amgad Elhanbaly (OLA Energy): “You need to be flexible to grow in Africa”
We talk to Amgad Elhanbaly, Corporate Head of Retail at OLA Energy, about the transformation of the African fuel and convenience retailer, adapting their business to different regions and the upcoming ReFuel Forum Africa event.
Amgad Elhanbaly, Corporate Head of Retail, started to work for OLA Energy in 2019 after a long career at ExxonMobil. As the African company rebranded from Oil Libya to OLA Energy, Amgad was brough in to improve the retail visual identity (RVI) and help the African retailer reach its full potential. The company currently operates in 17 countries and has a distribution network of 1,280 stations.
When you decided to join OLA Energy, what potential did you see for the company?
The potential is huge in Africa – the continent is very dynamic and young. There’s a lot of growth. We haven't had the opportunity to use all the technology and tools we (discovered) at multinational companies in Africa yet. I went through the change when ExxonMobil withdrew from Africa. To great extent, the main challenge was flexibility – if you really want to make a difference in Africa, you must be very flexible. At that time, with Europe heading towards electric mobility, I could still see plenty of development in the continent. I felt there was huge potential in retail and convenience concepts. New forms of communication are completely changing the customer perspective; people are exposed to what is happening across the world. To be able to pursue growth in Africa, it’s a great opportunity and challenge for me personally.
That’s an interesting point about the flexibility that is needed to be successful in the African market. How do you adapt your fuel and convenience offerings to the demands of each region?
Our strategy is consistent but we are flexible about the tactics. We would like to create a retail hub concept that sells fuels, not a fuel station with a shop. We looked at what the customers around us really need. In Kenya, it's mobile payment, banks loans and some food offering with areas for children. In Cameroon, we thought about a sushi bar or a spa… We are consistent because we have a forecourt, lubricants and a convenience store, and then we can plug in different offerings and c-store formats. Sometimes we are going to have a 250 square meter store, other times we will squeeze that into 60 square meters and focus on the offering. We are consistent but we adapt to the surroundings.
What would you say are some of the biggest differences in terms of customer behaviour between regions in Africa?
The North African countries are at an intermediate stage between Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. They are heading towards the European formula while keeping that African flavour. The North African customer expects a fast service so we are very meticulous about the speed of the pump. When it comes to lubricants, OLA Energy is the sole distributor for Mobil across Africa. Northern African countries have the highest volumes for premium options as consumers are very sophisticated about quality, speed and technology. They want good, full-fledged services. We have partnerships for service centres and tires across the region – in Egypt with Bridgestone and Continental, in Tunisia with Midas, and Bosch in Morocco. In city centres the customer wants to get in and out fast. And they appreciate the presence of multinational brands such as Starbucks and KFC.
When it comes to Sub-Saharan Africa, I would say that time is not a big factor. The consumer likes to spend more time at our site. The convenience store can be considered a hangout place where you can spend your Sundays. In Kenya, for example, we have areas for children to play. They're not so meticulous about synthetic oils and that. Those are the main differences between the two regions. We always play with those tactics, 65% consistent brand attributes and then the rest adapts to the needs of the local environment.
OLA Energy has developed a multi branded strategy with the presence of global food brands. It also supports African chains like O’Good Food. What was the thought process behind this strategy? Why was it so important to include an African brand?
When I joined OLA Energy, I had the challenge of getting both international and local brands working in the same location. Our vision of being an African company was clear, and we wanted most of the associated food offering within our convenience store (marhaba) to be an African brand. That was a priority. For our large sites, we also wanted to pursue the opportunity to offer multinational brands. It was a tough job because OLA is a new brand but they believed in our RVI strategy.
Food offering was a big challenge, especially in West Africa. I had to convince people that we could have a Pizza Hut and an O’Good Food, which also does pizzas, in the same location. The one from O’Good Food has a very strong taste but local people love it. You need to shape your decisions based on the customers. If a store sells one brand of chocolate and another has ten different brands, which one are you going to choose? Definitely the one with more variety. When a family comes to our site, the parents will probably be more associated with local food while their kid will prefer the multinational brand. An offering that is varied is a great opportunity to serve different needs.
Another point is that working alongside international companies has raised the standards of local brands. O’Good Food has changed dramatically in the last three years just by competing with these brands. We added a lot of value.
When it comes to technology, software and other applications, what are some of the big innovations that you've overseen at OLA Energy?
There are two big innovations at OLA Energy. First, automatic tank gauging (ATG) to automatically monitor our tanks and pumps. Our territory managers are connected to the sites through the app. I wouldn't say that this is a big innovation because it’s been in the world for the last 20 years, but it was something new for Africa. The second is the loyalty app. We started to collect more data about consumers and our staff at the site to understand their behaviour. We are working on that due to the importance of data. You need to be careful with the investments you do in Africa and not create a gap between you and the consumer. We like to go step by step.
Next week you will be speaking at ReFuelForum Africa in Cape Town. From your point of view, what is the value of events like ReFuelForum?
They are very important. Investments are very critical and expensive right now. You have to think about any investments, capital expenditure, the cost of the fuel, supply challenges... This is the right time for all the players to think together and to share best practices. Let's play together to support the industry; support our challenges and serve us all and the communities in a better way. I believe in these types of meetings, and I love to be there. At the end of the day, if we are going to keep competing we need a healthy industry. That’s the main part of these types of meetings. I hope people are open to share and continue networking.
As service stations expand their services, the number of competitors also diversifies. When you are thinking of a highway station between Cairo and Alexandria in 15 years’ time, how do you envision that site?
We are already working in this direction with our retail hubs. We would like the consumers to consider service stations as the third place between home and the office because of clean toilets, nice food, taking a rest, having a conference call, using the ATM, etc. This is taking place right now, especially in North Africa. Sixty percent of our customers already visit out sites without fueling. It is going to take place gradually, step by step. Consumers want a third place to take a rest on the road. I believe that we will be ready for that.
Related contents
Discuss