Navigating New Levels of Quality, Convenience and Safety (Forbes Africa)

By Mohamed Hapté Sow, CEO of Jumia Senegal

With present-day electronic commerce on the rise in Senegal, as in the rest of the world, Jumia Group is well prepared to meet e-commerce demand and expertly bridge the consumer and seller gap. Otherwise known as the ‘Amazon of Africa’, Jumia is Africa’s first unicorn, achieving a US$1 billion start-up valuation, as well as being the first African brand to be listed on a major global exchange, the New York Stock Exchange. A pan-African company, Jumia was launched in Nigeria and currently is found in another 10 African countries, including Senegal. Jumia Senegal’s presence in the country dates back to 2015 and currently has numerous branches outside Dakar (in Thiès, Touba, SaintLouis, Pikine, Kaolack, Ziguinchor, Diourbel and Kolda, to name a few) with over 2,000 sellers and a million references related to the digital platform. “For a long time now, Senegal has shown itself to be extremely advanced in technology and internet,” states Mohamed Hapté Sow, CEO of Jumia Senegal. “It’s no surprise that many tech companies have established themselves here since both country and internet connection are stable. E-commerce is booming and Senegal has all the potential to allow this to happen because its population is mostly made up of young people.” Honouring the company’s pioneering spirit, Jumia was Senegal’s first online shopping forum and remains its largest. Its platform offers the comfort of home shopping of a vast diversity of products at extra advantageous costs, these include: electronics (video games and smartphones), branded and stylish clothing, shoe wear and fashion accessories (watches and jewellery), pharmaceutical and beauty products (makeup, body creams, hair masks and perfume), home and office, sport and car equipment, books and food delivery. Ever attentive to consumer demands, Jumia Senegal success lies in its flexibility and ability to shift perspective. “Jumia is a marketplace that connects vendors and buyers” explains Hapté Sow. “Before travel restrictions were implemented, we had already decided to focus our business on consumers everyday needs and provide fastmoving consumer goods (FMCG). Prior to the pandemic, we had partnered with Carrefour in order to deliver groceries and this, I believe, is indicative of our huge capacity for adaptation.” Jumia Food is the e-commerce company’s response to ensuring convenient online food orders, including the collaboration with a vast diversity of eateries in order to connect people with the best restaurants around them while paying particular attention to the efficient purchase and delivery of the food. The optimisation of efficient, quality and safe delivery is key to the e-commerce company’s vision for innovation, integration and inclusion. In partnership with Senegal’s postal services, La Poste, Jumia has secured and continues to develop a level of high-class delivery services. “We have decided to partner with La Poste and are encouraging them to carry out e-commerce digital transformation,” announces Hapté Sow. “We have piloted four pick-up stations with them which were active from November to December in Dakar and we have extended that partnership so that even in rural areas you are able to pick up your Jumia package. We currently support and are supported by 17 postal offices but we also want to help and encourage start-ups and other small home delivery companies such as Paps. They emulate our work procedure because we have a strong team and are able to guarantee constant means for improvement.” Jumia is contributing significantly to building up a functional and economically viable digital landscape for Senegal through the catering of innovative and quality products and the provision of opportunity to sellers and start-ups, while creating jobs, promoting economic growth, sustaining safety (with the comfort of a click), connecting the nation and developing new skills. “Over the last two years, we have opened many pick-up points around the country because many products come from Dakar; in this way people know what kind of product and at what price they can get it and they don’t have to stick to local vendors,” concludes Hapté Sow. “And, every day, this is having a positive impact upon Senegalese lifestyle.”

Read the original article on Forbes Africa