Jumia is seeking to significantly reduce costs in an attempt to achieve profitability, through layoffs, exiting daily grocery and food delivery services, and reducing delivery services that are not related to the e-commerce business.
“The countries’ path was not consistent with the group’s strategy,” Dufay said, attributing this to the complex macroeconomics, competitive environment, growth potential, and low profitability in the medium term.
He added: “We believe it is the right decision. This enables us to refocus our resources on the other nine markets where we see more promising trends in terms of volume and profitability.”
The remaining markets include Jumia Egypt And Kenya andMorocco andNigeria.
Dufay believes that success in any of them “will enable us to easily compensate” for the volumes that the company ended in South Africa And Tunisia.
Dufay said the two regions accounted for only 2.7 percent of the total orders and three percent of the total value of goods in the six months ending June 30.
Zando was founded in 2012 and has since grown into a popular platform in South Africa for online fashion commerce.
In Tunisia, the company has been operating under the Jumia brand for a decade and sells general goods.
Dufay said he does not plan to sell either operation, which will hold liquidation sales before closing.
He added that the closure means eliminating about 110 jobs, but some employees may be transferred to other parts of the group’s business.
