Hesham Safwat, the CEO of Africa-focused e-commerce behemoth Jumia, dubbed “African Amazon,” has said that Jumia had planned to invest more than $590 million in Egypt and other African nations this year. Safwat didn’t say how much of the money went to Egypt, but he did say it was “one of the top nations we’re concentrating on,”.
Hesham Safwat, the CEO of Jumia
He went on to say that the company would put its money towards services. Jumia Mall and Jumia Foods are included.
In July of this year, Jumia Egypt will double the number of pickup stations to 200 and increase the number of last-mile delivery stations by 40%. In addition, to boost next-day delivery services, the company aims to expand its storage and delivery capacity.
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions. He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance. He is also an award-winning write
Africa’s first unicorn, Jumia Technologies AG is rolling out its restaurant-delivery service in Egypt, making the country the tenth where it offers the capability. According to the company’s chief executive in Egypt, Hesham Safwat, the ecommerce company focused on Africa is planning to launch the service during the first quarter with hundreds of participating restaurants. It will face competition to win over consumers and restaurant operators from similar offerings in the market, which include the Talabat and Elmenus platforms.
Hesham Safwat, Jumia Egypt CEO
It could be recalled that Uber Technologies Inc. ceased offering its Eats delivery service in Egypt in May 2020, even though it still offers rides in the country. Analysts say that Jumia hopes to tap into that yawning opportunity left by Uber Eats.
“We believe the market has a huge potential and is still at its early stage,” Mr. Safwat said in an interview, referencing demand for restaurant and food delivery in the North African country. Jumia’s restaurant-food business allows consumers to use a dedicated app to get meals from restaurants delivered to them. Many restaurants use Jumia’s logistics service to execute deliveries, the company said in an annual report for 2019. Currently, the food service is available in nine other markets in Africa where Jumia has operations, including Nigeria and Ghana. The food app also facilitates orders from grocery stores, according to a description of it.
At the launch of the service in Egypt, South Africa will be the only country Jumia is active in where it doesn’t offer food delivery. The company doesn’t have immediate plans to launch there, a spokesman said. In developed markets, demand for food delivery has grown during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has curtailed the ability of restaurants to seat consumers in indoor dining rooms. Meanwhile, Jumia plans to add technical and development staff this year in Egypt, expanding an office in Cairo from around 20 people to possibly around 100, Mr. Safwat said. Those developers would work on adding features to Jumia’s payments unit, he said.
Jumia has been pushing to show it can generate profits, in part by focusing its main digital marketplace on more everyday products, including consumer goods and health items. The company is also trying to expand beyond some of the urban centers in the countries where it is active, including in Egypt. In December, Jumia and Egypt’s postal service struck an agreement that allows Jumia to create pick-up locations for orders at locations in rural areas, according to Mr. Safwat.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
