“It is absolutely essential for women to be factored into
the future of e-commerce.” said Juliet Anammah, Jumia Group Head of
Institutional Affairs. “Africa is at the start of its e-commerce growth
trajectory. Now is the time to ensure women entrepreneurs are at the forefront
of Africa’s digital journey.”
Jumia is uniquely positioned to support women-owned
businesses in Africa to reach consumers online, providing them with the
necessary tools, technology and training to operate their businesses online.
IFC’s research found that e-commerce supported women entrepreneurs by helping
them grow their businesses, enter male-dominated sectors, access training, and
achieve personal goals and increased flexibility.
“E-commerce in Africa is thriving, yet we are already seeing
a widening gender gap in the sector. IFC’s report not only highlights the gap,
but also shows how it might be addressed so that women entrepreneurs can
succeed in this important and rapidly growing marketplace,” said Sérgio
Pimenta, IFC Vice President for the Middle East and Africa
On the Jumia platform, over a third of businesses in Côte
d’Ivoire and over 50% in Kenya and Nigeria are owned by women. The company aims
to further drive the penetration of women-owned businesses across all countries
where it operates. E-commerce is particularly attractive for women because it
gives women the unique opportunity to sell to consumers in an environment
without any of the gender related biases that may exist in physical markets
“Initially it was hard to get physical retailers to take my
hair products on board, but joining Jumia was simple and after registering with
them I immediately had direct access to thousands of customers.” says Wacu
Mureithi Founder of Mosara Ltd (Natural hair products) in Kenya.
Beyond providing them with a digital route to market, Jumia
aims to further support women-owned businesses by helping them access credit to
fund the growth of their ventures. Historically women have taken less advantage
of emerging fintech offerings such as in-platform loans compared to their male
counterparts, a situation that Jumia intends to change by raising awareness on
financial services and credit with women sellers.
“Through the loans received from the Jumia lending program,
my business has grown bigger with time.” said Jumoke Akinsanya, founder of an
online store in Lagos, Nigeria, Deeski.com. “We started with two staff members
and a smaller warehouse. Now we have a bigger warehouse and fourteen staff
members.”
Supporting women entrepreneurs has taken on renewed urgency
since the outbreak of COVID-19. In the first year of the pandemic, women-owned
businesses in the three countries studied in the report experienced a 7% drop
in sales, while male owned businesses recorded a 7% rise in sales. Targeted
support initiatives towards women are key to addressing this inequality and
ensuring inclusive economic recovery.