in GlobeandMail.

Instead of following other African countries that opened up to foreign retailers, Ethiopia is launching a government-owned supermarket named Alle that it plans to run as a private company, Reuters reports in GlobeandMail.

Despite interest by Walmart and Nakumatt to enter the market, the once Communist-run Ethiopian government has instead hired consultants to set up its own cash-and-carry wholesale chain.

Consultant A.T. Kearney is looking for international management know-how in establishing Alle.

Some Ethiopians are returning from the diaspora to join the management team, officials told Reuters.

It is a tantalizing, if limited, offer for companies such U.S.-based Walmart and Kenya’s Nakumatt supermarket, which already have stores elsewhere on the continent and would like entry into sub-Saharan Africa’s fifth-largest economy, Reuters reports.

Officials said Alle will bring more competition to the powerful suppliers who dominate the Ethiopian market, forcing down the prices passed on to retailers.

Ethiopia says it needs to modernize its distribution and supply networks and encourage competition to cut costs and keep down inflation, which jumped to 40 percent in 2011 when food prices surged and government price caps led to hoarding.

When asked about Ethiopia’s plans to shake up the retail industry, Finance Minister Sufian Ahmed told Reuters, “Retail distribution is not competitive, it is archaic.

“We are looking for outside management just to get international experience. We are open to any option, not only for Alle, but for any other major public enterprise.”

One of Africa’s fastest growing economies with a population of 90 million, Ethiopia has spurned the open market approach of other countries by holding onto control of its telecommunications industry and keeping foreigners out of the banks, Reuters reports.

“Why are we not there?” said Atul Shah, managing director of Nakumatt. “It is a vibrant market. The population is huge, the income is there, they have a lot to go around.”

The arrival of big foreign competitors would hurt locally-owned supermarkets springing up in the country’s new malls while the small traders who still dominate retailing fear it would put them out of business altogether, according to Reuters.

Based on experience in other emerging markets around the world, retailing starts expand significantly when a country’s per capita income reaches $750 and they really take off at $3000, according to McKinsey Global International.

In 2012, Ethiopia’s per capita income was $410. Its goal is to reach middle-income status — defined as $1,430 by the World Bank — by 2025.

Ethiopia’s middle class is increasingly brand conscious though available cash remains limited, said U.S.-educated Nega Asfaha who manages the Zefmesh Grand Mall, Ethiopia’s largest shopping center.

“The middle class is demanding more convenience, more choice, more brands,” said Nega. “But it doesn’t have that disposable income to really go out there and shop like you would at Macy’s at the weekend.”