The Nigerian start-up company Jumia, which specializes in e-commerce, will soon become the first African start-up to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (Nyse) on Wall Street. A first for an African technology company.
The e-commerce specialist has indeed sent the stock market authorities its intention to appeal to the market by detailing its activity without specifying the timing and price of the expected share. “Jumia has reached 4 million customers in 2018 in the 14 countries in which we operate, which account for 72% of the continent’s gross domestic product and 55% of the African population, or some 660 million inhabitants. Our potential is enormous and we intend to focus on these markets to attract more brands to our sites and win new customers, “says Jumia co-founder Sacha Poignonnec.
Created in 2012 by two French entrepreneurs, the start-up established in Nigeria has already raised more than 760 million dollars. Its shareholders include South African telecom operator MTN (30%), Rocket Internet (21%), Latin American operator Millicom (9.6%), Axa and Orange (6% each), Pernod- Ricard (5%), as well as investment funds and banks including Goldman Sachs (all under 5%).
Jumia saw its turnover increase by more than 11% in 2017, to 93.8 million euros (106 million dollars), for 2018, exceed 750 million visits, up 36%. The growing business volume is 63% to 828 million euros (936 million dollars). On the other hand, the group continues to post operating losses. A detail that is not trivial in the IPO phase.
