Pan-African e-commerce platform, Jumia has partnered United Parcel Service (UPS) to expand its delivery services for businesses and consumers across the continent.
The deal will enable UPS to leverage Jumia’s infrastructure to offer its customers an extended range of delivery solutions, including door to door package delivery and collection, with various payment options.
The collaboration will initially cover Nigeria, Kenya, and Morocco, with plans for expansion to Ghana and Ivory Coast, and thereafter to the remaining African countries where Jumia operates.
According to the head of strategy for the Indian subcontinent, Middle East and Africa, UPS, Renzo Bravo, the partnership will enable Atlanta-based UPS to build a greater presence in several African markets and tap into an anticipated boom in online retail.
“We believe that Africa has the potential to reach around $180 billion in online trade by 2025 that will enable growth and commerce, not only across Africa but also from the continent to the world and from the world to Africa,” he said.
On his part, Co-CEO Jumia, Sacha Poignonnec said, “We have this vast, untapped market opportunity both on the e-commerce and payment fronts, and in this context, we really want to establish Jumia as the go-to destination for consumers, and we want to develop JumiaPay into a payment and fintech champion on the continent over the next few quarters.”
Following this announcement, Jumia stock rose 7.8 per cent.
Jumia has also expanded the range of digital and financial services available to consumers. In Nigeria, customers can now book bus tickets via the JumiaPay app.
