Sacha Poignonnec - Afrikan Heroes

Jumia Plans Food Delivery Service Expansion Across Africa

March 3, 2021

With the positive rebound of its e-commerce business buoyed by covid-19 lockdown which shot its shares into bullish runs for the first time in over a year, Africa focused e-commerce giant and first unicorn, Jumia plans to expand its eCommerce offering to include food delivery across Africa. Dubbed the Amazon of Africa, Jumia seem poised to expand its offerings across the continent. Sacha Poignonnec, Jumia’s co-CEO said that 20% of all transactions across the Jumia platform is already made up of food and this is growing quickly adding that the service will expand to Egypt following the exit of Uber Eats from the North African country. The Jumia boss’ comments comes “after a year where demand for delivered meals and groceries has exploded worldwide as restrictions to contain the coronavirus kept people indoors”.

Though it has taken some African countries longer to adapt to the reality of on-demand food delivery services, efforts are being made to improve and ensure the adoption rate grows beyond what it is presently. However, the major challenge being faced by many countries is due to limited access to affordable Internet solutions.

To maximize its expansion drive, Jumia has also unveiled a new mobile gaming service in partnership with Mondia to launch a mobile gaming service which will be accessible from the JumiaPay App. According to company sources, the gaming service portal is available in five African countries including Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, Kenya and Ghana with plans to expand the service to Jumia customers in Tunisia and Côte d’Ivoire over the next few months.

Speaking on the company’s innovations, Sami Louali, EVP Financial Services at Jumia Group, says, “We have always been at the forefront of providing our consumers with the latest and best products and services. With the launch of this new category on JumiaPay Apps, we are providing our consumers with an exciting digital gaming and entertainment experience. With the help of our partner, Mondia, consumers can enjoy entertainment services through our JumiaPay App in addition to other digital and financial services”. The company said that subscriptions to Jumia Games gives customers unlimited access to all games with prices starting from $1.8 per month.

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

MTN Set To Sell Its Ownership Stake In Ecommerce Company Jumia

August 6, 2020

MTN Group Ltd. is planning to sell part or all of its $243 million (R4.1 billion) interest in Jumia Technologies AG as Africa’s biggest wireless carrier looks to pay down debt and enter new markets, according to people familiar with the matter.

Jumia founders founders, Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara

MTN, which had previously marked the online retailer as a non-core business, is reviving plans for a sale after Jumia’s shares surged 142% this year, recovering from a dip in 2019, one of the people said.

No final decisions about the sale have been made, the people said, asking not to be identified because the plans are private.

Called Africa’s Amazon, Jumia operates in 14 African countries including Nigeria and Ivory Coast where the U.S. giant still lacks distribution infrastructure.

The company — headquartered in Germany and run by its two French founders, Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara — had dropped below its initial public offering price in 2019 after improper transactions in its Nigeria business were uncovered.

Johannesburg-based MTN has been disposing of non-core assets as part of the company’s strategy to reduce debt and drive future growth.

The company also has a 29% stake in IHS Towers, which it may sell in the future, one of the people said. Africa’s largest wireless carrier by footprint has generated R14 billion ($812 million) in asset sales that included selling its towers holdings in Ghana and Uganda to American Towers Inc.

The company plans include bidding for a license to enter Ethiopia, one of the largest markets that have not yet privatized its telecommunications industry.

A spokeswoman for MTN declined to comment because the company is in a closed period ahead of financial results. A representative for Jumia declined to comment. IHS didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Source: Bloomberg

Charles Rapulu Udoh

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 writer