Pan-African e-commerce platform Jumia has announced that it will cease its food delivery service, Jumia Food, by the end of December 2023.
Jumia stated that its food delivery business is not aligned with the current operational landscape and will shut down its services in seven markets, including Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Ivory Coast.
Digging Deeper
Jumia is redirecting its focus towards the core physical goods business and maintaining its JumiaPay operations across all 11 markets.
According to Antoine Maillet-Mezeray, the company’s EVP Finance & Operations, the decision to exit the food delivery, a business with challenging economics in Africa and globally, was rooted in prioritizing opportunities and expected return on investment.
What They’re Saying
“The more we focus on our physical goods business, the more we realize that there is huge potential for Jumia to grow, with a path to profitability,” Francis Dufay, CEO of Jumia stated.
“We must take the right decision and fully focus our management, our teams and our capital resources to go after this opportunity. In the current context, it means leaving a business line, which we believe does not offer the same upside potential – food delivery.”
Food Delivery Services On The Decline?
With Jumia’s exit from the food delivery sector, this adds to other competitors leaving different markets including Bolt Food, which exited Nigeria and South Africa earlier this year due to macroeconomic conditions.
Source: Techcrunch
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