Jumia Technologies AG has announced the planned closure of its operations in Tunisia and South Africa, operated under the brand name Zando.
The firm says the closure of these markets will allow it to focus resources on its most promising markets that have a stronger growth potential.
South Africa and Tunisia combined accounted for 3.5% and 2.7% respectively of total orders in 2023.
The strategic decision to close operations in these markets is expected to improve overall operational efficiency across Jumia’s business.
Jumia. CEO, Francis Dufay said: “Since assuming the role of CEO, I have focused on initiatives aimed at strengthening our business and placing us on a path to profitability. After a thorough analysis, we made the difficult decision to close down our operations in South Africa and Tunisia. Both businesses account for a negligible portion of our overall operations.
“Furthermore, competitive and macroeconomic conditions in both markets have limited each country’s growth potential and their contribution to our overall business has not aligned with expectations. Decisions like these are never easy and we are extremely grateful to team members in both countries, who worked tirelessly to serve our customers every day. We are also grateful to our suppliers, vendors and logistics partners in these markets. We deeply thank them for their hard work and service to Jumia.”
Jumia believes that exiting these markets and refocusing resources on its other nine markets will leave the company better positioned to accelerate overall growth and further improve efficiency.