AMZN – Jumia Tries to Become the Amazon of Africa

by Karl Utermohlen | December 17, 2013 11:46 am

Jumia has only existed for 18 months but some believe that the online retailer could be the Amazon (AMZN[1]) of Africa.

Jeremy Hodara said that he co-founded Jumia in Nigeria[2] because of how hard it is to shop around the country’s capital. Lagos has bad roads, unbearable traffic and a limited number of shopping malls which makes it impossible for some to get a pair of socks. The Frenchmen started the online retailer to serve the same purpose as Amazon — package and deliver a variety of reasonably-priced goods to people’s doorstep in a timely manner.

Jumia is now making the leap from being a national retailer to a continental corporation after securing $26 million to expand into additional African markets[3]. Additionally, customers can choose to pay for their products online or at their doorstep when their products arrive.

The idea of becoming a successful online retailer in Africa is still difficult to grasp when you consider the fact that many people don’t have access to technology or additional money to spend on e-commerce. Nevertheless, Amazon also started small in the U.S. and eventually grew into an international retail juggernaut worth billions.

AMZN stock has been growing steadily over the last five years that have seen its shares go up over 650%.

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Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2013/12/jumia-amazon-amzn-amazon-stock/

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