Jumia Kenya, the e-commerce platform, has announced the appointment of Charles Ballard as its new CEO. This comes after the company went through two CEOs in just two years, raising concerns about the stability of its leadership.
Betty Mwangi was appointed as CEO in November 2020, succeeding Sam Chappatte. However, she left the position just one year later, and Juan Seco took over in July 2022. Seco, who had served with Jumia for eight years, has now left to join Mukuru, a pan-African fintech company, as Chief Growth Officer and MD East Africa.
Charles Ballard has been with Jumia Kenya since 2019, starting as the Head of Performance and Planning before being promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2021 and then Senior Vice President-Commercials in 2022. Before joining Jumia, he worked as a Retail Consultant at Sagaci Research and Deputy CFO at ACTED.
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Jumia Kenya has recorded losses of $87.8 million (KSh 11.6 billion) since its establishment in May 2013. The losses increased by $9 million (KSh 1.2 billion) in 2021, up from $78.8 million (KSh 10.6 billion) in 2020. The company also reported a loss of $72.7 million (KSh 9.7 billion) in 2019, signalling a consecutive decrease in its revenue.
Out of its ten global markets, Jumia reported a gross loss of KSh 99 billion in the same year. However, the company plans to use the accumulated losses to offset future taxes once it rebounds to profit.
Ballard’s appointment comes as Jumia Kenya looks to increase its online shopping sales, particularly in rural areas where over 70% of the population resides. The platform has over 11,000 sellers countrywide and more than 1,000 pick-up stations.
In his statement, Ballard expressed his excitement at continuing to drive the e-commerce narrative in rural Kenya, where access to modern retail is a challenge, and e-commerce can bring better prices, more choices, and convenience to rural Kenyans. He hopes to leverage his experience to grow Jumia’s online marketplace and increase its coverage in rural areas.
The appointment of Charles Ballard as Jumia Kenya’s new CEO is a step towards stabilizing the company’s leadership and increasing its online shopping sales. However, it remains to be seen whether the company can turn its losses into profits and achieve long-term success.
Jumia Kenya has been recording losses since it set up its base in May 2013, with a cumulative loss of $87.8 million (KSh 11.6 billion) in nearly nine months. In 2019 alone, the company reported a loss of $72.7 million (KSh 9.7 billion), indicating a consecutive decline in revenue.
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The increasing focus on rural areas is another reason for the change. Charles Ballard, the new CEO, has expressed his desire to drive the e-commerce narrative in rural Kenya, where more than 70% of the population lives. He believes that access to modern retail is a challenge in these areas, which presents a significant opportunity for growth in Jumia’s online marketplace.
Moreover, Jumia Kenya has struggled to develop a strategy that addresses the unique challenges of the Kenyan market. The company has not been able to keep up with the fast-changing dynamics of the e-commerce sector, leading to a series of leadership changes.
The competitive landscape of the e-commerce sector in Kenya has intensified, making it more challenging for Jumia to maintain its market share. Local and international players have entered the market, creating more competition.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard