Choppies Enterprises Ltd. will close its supermarkets in several African nations to concentrate on growth in Botswana, where it’s listed.

The Gaborone-based retailer plans to close supermarkets in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique because they aren’t profitable, according to Chief Executive Officer Ramachandran Ottapathu. Instead, it will add stores in Botswana this year and explore new markets.

“Zambia is self-sustaining and growing slowly and in Zimbabwe we’ll look at the market and how it goes,” Ottapathu said in a phone interview. “Namibia, we need to grow.”

Gaborone-based news site Mmegionline was the first to report the retailer’s exit from four African nations on Monday.

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