Bringing amusement machines to Ethiopia for the first time has proved a significant success for Dubai-based Amusement Services International, headed by Prakash Vivekanand.

The company has just released details of its first foray into the Ethiopian market: an FEC location in Addis Ababa, which opened two months ago.

Bob and Bongos is Ethiopia’s first indoor family entertainment centre. It is located in a shopping centre in the city and is themed around a colony of Gelada baboons, which are native to Ethiopia.

"The population has taken to the centre with great enthusiasm," said Vivekanand. "They have never been exposed to high-grade amusement machines before - and they are all brand new machines in that kind of themed environment."

Vivekanand’s company carried out the total installation, and is operating the location with amusement rides, redemption games and other equipment.

There are 40 games in all, with four rides and a restaurant named Bobs Bites, plus a three-screen multiplex. It is housed in the Edna Mall, Ethiopia’s first complete family destination.

Another new venture for ASI is in the Yemen, where the company has signed a deal to open an indoor entertainment centre in the capital, Sanaa, in mid-2009. The location will have 10 lanes of bowling; 60-plus games and six indoor rides; a party room; and food and beverage. It will form an integral part of a new shopping centre.