Jumia, a prominent e-commerce platform in Africa, has revealed its plan to discontinue its food delivery service, Jumia Food, across all seven countries where the unit operates, including Nigeria, by the end of December 2023. This decision is part of the company’s strategic shift to focus on its core physical goods business and the Jumia Pay platform. Despite constituting 11% of Jumia’s Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) in the first nine months of 2023, Jumia Food has struggled to achieve profitability since its inception.
The company’s CEO, Francis Dufay, emphasized the need to fully concentrate on the physical goods business, which offers substantial potential for growth and profitability. This move comes at a time when the food delivery market in Nigeria is experiencing significant developments, with players like Chowdeck and Glovo making strategic partnerships to tap into the realm of quick commerce (q-commerce) and sub-hour grocery deliveries.
The decision by Jumia to exit the food delivery business reflects the challenges and intense competition in the on-demand delivery services sector in Nigeria and across Africa. Despite the market’s potential, issues such as late deliveries and high operational costs have posed significant challenges for food delivery platforms in the region.
