(Press Release) Jumia – Africa’s fastest growing e-commerce retailer with operations in Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco – and Zando – the #1 fashion retailer online in South Africa – announced an investment by J.P. Morgan Asset Management recently. The investor will take a stake through a
German holding company in an all cash-for-equity investment.
Jumia was launched in spring 2012 and offers a wide range of general merchandise categories such as fashion apparel, shoes, electronics, mobile phones, books, toys, beauty products and many more categories. The company currently operates in Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco, with
plan to expand in additional countries in the coming months. The company was launched with the support of Rocket Internet – the European incubator of internet start-ups.
“This investment is a real turning point for Jumia, and e-commerce in Nigeria” said Jumia cofounders and joint-CEO’s Tunde Kehinde & Raphael Afaedor. “With this investment, we will strengthen our current footprint, offering our customers more brands, more categories and
more services as well as improving operations; we are among the pioneers of e-commerce in Nigeria and this investment confirms that Nigeria will become a very large market in the very near future.”
“Attracting such a reputable international investor to support our future growth shows commitment and confidence in our business,” said Zando’s Co-founder and Managing Director, Manuel Koser. “At ZANDO customer satisfaction is very important to us. This investment will assist the business by supporting its vision and all of its operations.”
J.P. Morgan Asset Management Portfolio Manager Robert Cousin, who worked on the deal from New York, commented further saying, “We are excited to partner with Jumia and Zando as the companies continue to expand their e-commerce presence in Africa.”
About Jumia
Jumia is Nigeria’s #1 online retailer with the widest array of products across categories from men, women and kids fashion through beauty and fragrances to general merchandise (including mobile, baby & toys and home electronics). It is also Nigeria’s largest online book store with some 40,000 book titles, and is the 8th most visited Nigerian website on the internet. Jumia delivers door to door across all cities, towns and villages in Nigeria. It leverages its own proprietary network of vehicles and motor-bikes in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. It partners with DHL to deliver to other parts of Nigeria. According to Raphael Afaedor, “since our launch in June 2012, we are happy to have generated new over 100 new jobs into the Nigerian economy, employing some of the best foreign and locally trained Nigerians. Where there is a skill shortage, for example in online marketing, our approach is to bring in a foreign expert, to teach local talent, thereby creating new skills into the economy, and creating a talented and sustainable base of talented Nigerian employees.”
About Zando
ZANDO is a leading online fashion store offering choice and accessibility to South African consumers with over 300 local and international brands and a large selection of styles featured online.
The online store has multiple payment methods to choose from (Cash on delivery, Electronic funds transfer, Credit Card, Debit Card and eBucks) and offers free and fast delivery nationwide and immediate returns upon delivery.
Source: cp-africa.com