- Jumia raises $100 million to boost growth.
- E-commerce giant targets 2 million user barrier.
- Company navigates currency challenges toward profitability.
Shopping spree for growth
African e-commerce giant Jumia plans to raise over $100 million through the sale of 20 million American depositary shares.
CEO Francis Dufay aims to use this capital injection to accelerate growth after a period of cost management and efficiency improvements.
The funds will enhance Jumia’s supply chain network, expand into smaller cities, and invest in marketing and vendor technology.
Two million and counting
Jumia’s active customer base has stagnated around two million for several quarters, a fraction of its potential 600 million-strong market.
The new funding will focus on customer acquisition, product assortment expansion, and vendor retention to break past this plateau. Despite currency devaluations in key markets like Egypt and Nigeria, Jumia has seen encouraging GMV growth in constant currency terms.
While Jumia’s revenue declined 17% year-over-year to $36.5 million, its adjusted EBITDA loss decreased by 10% to $16.3 million.
The company is now emphasizing “loss before income tax from continuing operations” as its key profitability metric, which fell 27% year-over-year to $22.5 million.
This approach, similar to Latin American counterpart Mercado Libre, offers a more comprehensive view of performance amid currency volatility.
