The fourth quarter of 2023 was a tough period for Jumia, one of Africa’s largest e-commerce brands. After making some drastic strategic changes, Jumia managed to escape with a $4.5 million loss in Q4 2023, accounting for operational losses only.
According to Jumia, one of the most crucial but difficult decisions to make was ending the Jumia Food business. This was no surprise, as the food delivery business was operating in a tough macroeconomic dimension.
As a result, the employees who worked in that section were laid off immediately, but not entirely.
Jumia began laying off employees in January 2024 across several countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Algeria, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, and Morocco. Those who stayed with the company received new positions within Jumia.
“Jumia is simply doing what’s best for the company and our investors. After reviewing our setup and operational direction, one could say that it is time to redirect our resources on the path to efficiency and ultimately profitability,” says Jumia.
The e-commerce brand started the discontinuation of the Food delivery business in early 2023, with countries such as Egypt, Ghana, and Senegal branches beginning the trend. While branches in other countries took on the domino effect until now when the Jumia Food app is no longer on the app store.
Looking at the strategy that was employed to ease the closure of Jumia Food, one could say that this has been a dire issue since 2022.
Jumia must employ cost discipline and restructuring, following the directives of CEO Francis Dufay, to finally yield the profits it desires.
According to the company, inflation and currency devaluation also play an important role in the evaluation of revenue and gross merchandise value.