Jumia Technologies, Africa’s largest e-commerce retailer, will close its operations in South Africa and Tunisia by the end of the year.
The decision, which includes the shutdown of the South African fashion retailer Zando, is part of the company’s strategy to focus on more profitable markets, as confirmed by the CEO Francis Dufay.
Jumia is taking aggressive cost-cutting measures, including reducing its workforce, exiting non-core services such as food delivery, and halting grocery deliveries to achieve profitability.
According to Dufay, macroeconomic challenges, high competition, and limited growth potential contributed to the decision to exit these markets. The closures will affect around 110 jobs, though Dufay mentioned the possibility of relocating some staff to other parts of the business.