jumia – Africa Tech Digest

Are tech companies Africa’s new colonialists?

8Jul

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Opinion

Are tech companies Africa’s new colonialists?

Foreign-owned start-ups are driving an African tech revolution — and prompting old fears of exploitation Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.comT&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found here. https://www.ft.com/content/4625d9b8-9c16-11e9-b8ce-8b459ed04726 In 1886, barely a year after Europe’s great powers met in Berlin to carve up the continent of Africa, Queen Victoria granted Sir George Goldie a charter for his Royal Niger Company. The charter gave Goldie, a moustachioed, waistcoated gentleman of Scottish descent, the ri...

What makes us African is our exclusive focus on African consumers, says Jumia’s co-founder

24Apr

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

ecommerce

What makes us African is our exclusive focus on African consumers, says Jumia’s co-founder

It’s been an remarkable couple of weeks for Jumia, the largest e-commerce operator in Africa, as it made tech history by listing on the New York Stock Exchange. The company’s initial public offering has been lauded as game-changing in African tech circles especially given previous concerns about a lack of exits for investors in tech startups as well significant operational challenges in e-commerce across the continent. Quartz Africa spoke to Sacha Poignonnec, co-founder and chief executive of Jumia, to discuss the company’s operations across African markets, the possible impact of its landmark initial public offering and the sustained debate over the company’s identity. How do you respond to the increasing furor around Jumia’s roots and identity as an African company? For us, it’...

The Rapid Growth of Digital Business in Africa

23Apr

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Trends

The Rapid Growth of Digital Business in Africa

The latest technology firm to list on the New York Stock Exchange is not from Silicon Valley but from Africa. Jumia, an e-commerce platform with over 4 million customers in 14 African countries, saw its shares jump by around 70% on its NYSE debut day on April 12th. That put the company’s market capitalization at close to $2 billion, cementing its status as Africa’s first technology unicorn. Jumia’s successful NYSE listing is a timely reminder of Africa’s rapid digitization — a trend that has been hidden from the view of many global investors and executives. Africa already has 122 million active users of mobile financial services, more than half the global total. Its number of smartphone connections is forecast to double from 315 million in 2015 to 636 million in 2022 — twice the projec...

Africa’s startup ecosystems are at a major turning point

17Apr

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

ecommerce, Trends

Africa’s startup ecosystems are at a major turning point

It isn’t hyperbole to describe last week as a turning point for the African startup ecosystem. The obvious reason: The successful initial public offering of Jumia. Yet it’s bigger than the e-commerce company, and it’s a tide that had started to turn since the second half of 2018. Jumia, now listed on the New York Stock Exchange, may not represent the greatest of financial boons for a majority of African investors (though South Africa’s MTN is still its largest shareholder—for now). Getting the IPO—Africa’s largest e-commerce service, operating in 14 countries—off the ground represented a coming of age for a sector the world’s biggest capital markets and investors often have portrayed as a well-intentioned but fanciful dream. That was particularly clear for anyone with a perspective dr...

The billion-dollar IPO of Africa’s biggest e-commerce player is happening this month

10Apr

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

ecommerce

The billion-dollar IPO of Africa’s biggest e-commerce player is happening this month

If you’re looking to get a slice of the biggest e-commerce operator in Africa, get the checkbook ready: there’s finally an established timeline for the initial public offering (IPO) launch by Jumia. Quartz Africa can now confirm the company’s listing on NYSE will happen in April. After long-running speculation over the past year, Jumia filed its S1 documents to list on the New York Stock Exchange last month. That timeline, as confirmed by a Jumia spokesperson, is at par with typical listings on the NYSE following recent events. Indeed, in updated S1 documents, Jumia has set a price range of $13 to $16 per share last week. Like most companies intending to list, after setting a share price range, Jumia will now commence an investor roadshow during which its final share price will be s...