Nigerian e-commerce and retail website Jumia which was formerly known as Kasuwa, just received funding from J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
The amount that was put into Jumia hasn’t been disclosed but the investment company is a global company which has assets under supervision of approximately $2.0 trillion and assets under management of $1.3 trillion (as of June 30, 2012) and its clients include institutions, retail investors and high-net worth individuals in every major market throughout the world.
In a press release by Jumia co- founders and joint-CEO’s Tunde Kehinde & Raphael Afaedor stated that
“This investment is a real turning point for Jumia, and e-commerce in Nigeria… With this investment, we will strengthen our current footprint, offering our customers more brands, more categories and more services as well as improving operations; we are among the pioneers of e-commerce in Nigeria and this investment confirms that Nigeria will become a very large market in the very near future.”
Jumia was formerly owned by Rocket Internet. Earlier this year, Rocket reportedly sold all its African holdings including Kasuwa, an online electronic, gadgets and content store like Amazon and Sabunta, an online clothing and fashion store to Millicom, who then consolidated both companies into Jumia.
Since the entrance of Jumia into the e-commerce space, Nigeria has seen a host of e-commerce companies launch. Seems like they were waiting for validation.
Such companies include Konga and MHQ. Konga is an indirect competitor to Jumia in four categories and currently only delivers to Lagos. MHQ on the other hand sells mainly food stuff and grocery items.
Seems like Jumia here to stay.
Tags : E-Commerce, funding, J.P. Morgan, Jumia, Kasuwa, Sabunta
