12 Things You Didn’t Know About Africa’s First Startup Unicorn

Africa celebrated its first startup unicorn in 2016 when Jumia Group, a Lagos-based e-commerce ecosystem was valued at more than $1 billion.

Formerly named the Africa Internet Group, Jumia became the first privately owned startup to gain unicorn status, joining an elite group of 150-or-so companies around the globe.

The e-commerce startup surprised some people when it was announced as the first African tech unicorn. Jumia is not particularly well-known around the world. It has held investments in various more recognizable e-commerce properties. A rebranding in 2016 gave it more brand recognition as Jumia.

Using a sales approach similar to Amazon, Jumia is a subsidiary of Millicom International Cellular S.A., a telecommunications and media firm serving over 63 million customers across 14 markets in Africa and Latin America.

Here are the 12 things you didn’t know about Africa’s first startup unicorn, Jumia Group.

Sources: TrueAfrica, Inc, DigitalTrends, Techcrunch, TechCabal, LinkedIn.

Africa’s e-commerce leader

Jumia Group was founded in 2012, and in five short years it has gone from startup to unicorn, and is now the leading e-commerce group in Africa. The continental juggernaut holds investments within over 10 e-commerce sites across the continent.

Multiple businesses in numerous countries

Started in Nigeria, Jumia Group is now responsible for operations across 26 countries, with a total of 71 companies serving clients in those nations, and continuous plans for expansion being pushed by the startup unicorn.

Diversified across sectors

The secret to successful growth for Jumia Group has involved diversifying across numerous sectors. The business operates in sectors that include online retail, food ordering platforms, online marketplaces, real estate marketplaces, vehicle marketplaces, taxi hailing, online travel agencies, and P2P lending marketplaces.

Rebranding e-commerce startups under Jumia

The company with pan-African operations decided that a rebranding was in order for the e-commerce section of the business, which was renamed to Jumia Group. In addition to the original Jumia, an online shopping destination for electronics and fashion, other parts of the business were renamed to Jumia Market, Jumia Travel, and Jumia Food to name a few.

It has a rival for Uber

Jumia Group is a company with countless other businesses operating under it, and one of those is a rival for Uber. Easy Taxi is dedicated to catering to those who wish to get from point A to B while using a mobile app to request a driver via GPS.

Unicorn status attracted more investment

The month after unicorn status became official with an investment of $83 million from European insurance giant AXA, Africa Internet Group (before it was changed to Jumia Group) announced that it had raised a much larger $326 million in fresh funding led by Goldman Sachs – including the $83 million in that sum.

After Goldman Sachs there was Orange

After being named the continent’s first unicorn, Jumia Group attracted yet another big name investor as French mobile provider (with strong links to the African continent) Orange invested $85 million in the company.

Founded on a passion for improving people’s lives

Jumia Group was founded in 2012 on the basis of the belief that the internet can improve people’s lives in Africa by tackling the challenges that people face every day and connecting like-minded people with tech solutions to issues such as poor infrastructure, expensive products and lack of access to choice.

Selling cars online

Previously called Carmudi, and now known as Jumia Car, the company is an online marketplace where buyers and sellers interact to sell and buy cars, demonstrating the scope of e-commerce businesses in their portfolio.

Top investors from around the globe

Jumia Group is led by leaders that offer a combination of local and international talent, which is why over time they have attracted investors such as MTN, Millicom, Rocket Internet, Axa, Orange, and Goldman Sachs.

Rough year for the business

The year 2016 turned out to be a rough one for the business, with Jumia revenues falling by 41.7 percent to around $99.3 million, which the company said was due to a decrease in gross merchandise volume and its shift to a marketplace model. Tough economic conditions in two of its most important markets, Nigeria and Egypt, made a decline inevitable.

Impressive valuation and bright future

A valuation of over $1 billion is impressive considering the mainly middle-class population in Africa and the significant regulatory, logistical, and infrastructural challenges present on the continent, but it is important to remember that growing internet penetration and e-commerce trends in Africa bode well for Jumia Group in years to come.