Jumia is an Africa-focused e-commerce marketplace that sells clothing, electronics, cosmetics and alcohol across nine African markets and the UK. The company, founded in 2012, has tailored its model to emerging markets with cash-on-delivery payments and a focus on its Android app. Jumia employs about 1,500 staff and said it has doubled the number of sales it processes this year, though it did not disclose exact sales or current customer figures. The last reported web metrics from 2013 showed around 150,000 daily unique visitors and 750,000 registered users. Its parent is Africa Internet Group (AIG), a joint venture between Rocket Internet, MTN and Millicom, and Rocket Internet is cited as a backer. The company announced a new funding round valuing it at €445 million ($555 million) but did not specify how it will deploy the proceeds. Jumia operates an online marketplace offering apparel, shoes, fashion accessories, electronics, household appliances, toys and books. The company was launched in spring 2012 with the support of Rocket Internet and is led by co-founders and CEOs Jeremy Hodara and Sacha Poignonnec. It raised $35M in the reported funding round. Millicom International Cellular S.A. made a follow-on investment, increasing its stake from 20% to 35%. Other shareholders named in the article include Investment AB Kinnevik, J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Summit Partners. Jumia intends to use the proceeds to strengthen its leadership in Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco and Kenya and to expand into new countries. Jumia, launched last year and incubated by Rocket Internet, operates an online marketplace in Africa selling categories such as mobile phones, baby and children’s products, books and home electronics. The company is already active in Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco. It raised a €20 million ($26 million) investment from Summit Partners to fund geographic expansion across additional African countries and to grow its business in current markets. Management says the capital will be used to offer new product categories, strengthen operations, speed up delivery to customers, and recruit talent. Summit’s investment follows earlier backing from Millicom and JP Morgan Asset Management. The deal underscores Summit’s ongoing interest in Rocket Internet’s e‑commerce plays in emerging markets.

Total raised

$211M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Nov 2014