Jumia Technologies, an Africa-focused e-commerce retailer platform has announced it would shut down its operations in South Africa, where it operated under the brand name Zando, and also in the North African country of Tunisia by the end of 2024.
The company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Francis Dufay stated that the move was aimed to refocus on more profitable markets like Nigeria and other countries like Algeria, Ghana, amongst others.
According to the company, for the year ended December 31, 2023, and the first half of 2024, South Africa and Tunisia contributed only 3.5% and 2.7% of total orders respectively.
He said, “Since assuming the role of CEO, I have focused on initiatives aimed at strengthening our business and placing us on a path to profitability.
“After a thorough analysis, we made the difficult decision to close down our operations in South Africa and Tunisia. Both businesses account for a negligible portion of our overall operations.
“Furthermore, competitive and macroeconomic conditions in both markets have limited each country’s growth potential and their contribution to our overall business has not aligned with expectations.
“Decisions like these are never easy and we are extremely grateful to team members in both countries, who worked tirelessly to serve our customers every day. We are also grateful to our suppliers, vendors, and logistics partners in these markets. We deeply thank them for their hard work and service to Jumia.”
Following this exit from South Africa and Tunisia, Jumia will be shifting its focus to its remaining markets consisting of Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Senegal, and Uganda.
