Amazon Of Africa, Jumia Relocates Top Management From Dubai To Africa: Report

Jumia Technologies AG JMIA shut down its office in Dubai and migrated senior management to the African countries they control to cut losses and redirect the company after its founders quit in November.
Managers will move to countries in their region, with most relocating to Morocco, Kenya, and Ivory Coast, and disband the 60-person Dubai office, Jumia’s acting head Francis Dufay said in a Bloomberg interview.
Dufay took over after founders Sacha Poignonnec, and Jeremy Hodara quit in November.
He voiced his efforts to cut costs as Dubai’s rents rose faster than those in New York or London and became more responsive to the young, tech-savvy population in its African markets.
Jumia went public in 2019 in the U.S., where investors hailed it as the Amazon.com Inc AMZN of Africa. Since then, Jumia has battled with persistent losses, and its shares plunged 68%.
The report added that Amazon looks to expand its e-commerce service into some of the larger African markets by next year.
Still, Dufay said that the company’s more than a decade of experience operating in Africa offered it an edge over new competitors.
Dufay looked to double down on Jumia’s “bread-and-butter” e-commerce categories, including fashion, beauty, consumer electronics, and appliances.
He planned to pause the logistics services to third parties in its operating countries except for Morocco, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast.
Price Action: JMIA shares traded higher by 1.26% at $4.81 on the last check Monday.