Jumia boosts eCommerce with new $300m investments

The profile of Nigeria’s electronic commerce (eCommerce) sector got a boost at the weekend with a fresh $300 million investment from Jumia.

Jumia explained that new investment came from global investors including top tier investment bank Goldman Sachs and renowned French Insurer AXA.

The firm explained that the majority of these investments would be directed towards further growing its brand in Nigeria, which will be four this week in Nigeria.

According to Jumia, the new investment would encourage it, especially in this period of recession. It stressed that global investors are bullish about the Nigerian economy, its early-stage companies, and the role technology has to play in the country’s development, despite the rocky start to the year.

“Furthermore this renewed vote of confidence reasserts the massive potential of online commerce in an environment where the ecosystem that supports it is not yet fully developed.

“As we celebrate Jumia’s 4th year of existence in April 2016, let us deep-dive and explore the innovations e-commerce has brought into the Nigerian economy, as well as the challenges the sector will have to face in 2016”, the firm stated.

According to Jumia, in a statement, so much has changed since 2012. “Back then Lagos’ tech start-up scene looked very much like a 1980s Dubai: a bare land animated by the vision of turning it into a megalopolis and the drive of a few entrepreneurs convinced it would one day become one of the most attractive cities in the world.

“Today Lagos has become a tech center, welcoming innovative startups battling to improve services in varied sectors: online supermarkets, online fashion stores, logistics provider for these e-commerce companies, online food delivery platforms, online car and real estate service providers, online taxi services. And the industry is blossoming like a wild flower.”

Jumia claimed that when it started in 2012, it knew it would have to adapt to Nigeria’s specificities and completely re-think eCommerce, as it was known both from the demand and the supply perspectives.

It disclosed that unlike our Western counterparts where all orders are prepaid, in Nigeria, cash on delivery still accounts for 85 per cent of all payments on the pan-african website.

To meet the growing logistics challenges, Jumia said it created its own logistic company, AIG Express, a first for any e-commerce in the world. It explained that the logistic company extends across all Nigeria with hubs in key cities, thus ensuring the last-mile delivery on a nationwide level. 800 vehicles, 35 hubs and 600 delivery associates now form the strong bone of Jumia’s logistics company.

Commenting, Managing Director of Jumia Nigeria, Fatoumata Ba, said: “We strongly believe in the resilience of the Nigerian economy and are convinced it will pull through very soon. There are already very encouraging signs for us: more than 92 million Nigerians are now connected through their smartphones to the Internet and the purchasing power of the Nigerian population, albeit difficult times, has risen in 2015 and 2016 to surpass the purchasing power of giants like India.