The newly unveiled service, branded as "Jumia Delivery," empowers external sellers to seamlessly ship their packages nationwide by leveraging Jumia’s extensive existing logistics infrastructure, which includes a network of 494 strategically located pickup stations across Nigeria. Following a successful initial pilot program in Ivory Coast, the service has now been officially launched in Nigeria and is slated for imminent expansion into key African markets such as Kenya, Senegal, and Ghana, pending the necessary regulatory approvals in each region.
During the company's first-quarter earnings call on May 8th, Jumia CEO Francis Dufay articulated the rationale behind this strategic shift. "Local social commerce merchants [one of our competitors] will always be around, and we are looking at this pool of merchants as an opportunity for Jumia," Dufay stated. "We are working to onboard them to our marketplace and help them generate more sales. We are also looking to sell our Jumia delivery services and generate profits from them."
This strategic foray positions Jumia in direct competition with established logistics providers that have already cultivated significant distribution networks, including players like Uber, Bolt, Chowdeck, Sendbox, and GIG Logistics. However, Jumia's strategic advantage lies in its bet that opening up its well-established fulfillment engine will generate substantial economies of scale and ultimately enhance cost efficiency across its entire operational framework, particularly in the crucial last-mile delivery segment.
Prior to this latest initiative, Jumia had already implemented a series of measures aimed at curbing its delivery expenses, which totaled $9.4 million in the first quarter of 2025, and improving its profit margins. These earlier efforts have yielded positive results, stemming from staff reductions (a 3% decrease in headcount in Q1 2025), the renegotiation of agreements pertaining to logistics and technology services, and the implementation of more streamlined warehouse processes. Jumia Delivery is anticipated to further amplify these cost savings by enabling the company to transport a higher volume of goods per trip, thereby optimizing fixed costs associated with warehousing and last-mile operations.
Nevertheless, Jumia Delivery faces a competitive landscape populated by several players that have already made significant strides in distributing their logistics services and have cultivated strong brand recognition. These include established logistics giants like DHL, GIG Logistics, Kwik Delivery, and Sendbox.
Jumia will also encounter competition from the delivery arms of ride-hailing and quick commerce platforms such as Glovo, Chowdeck, Uber, Indrive, and Bolt, which are leveraging their existing network effects to expand their delivery service offerings. Furthermore, the company will need to contend with a growing cohort of independent delivery riders who often capitalize on personal relationships with sellers and offer more competitively priced services.
Despite these competitive pressures, Jumia's leadership remains optimistic about the prospects of this new venture. "This is a scalable business that extends our value proposition across the digital economy," the company affirmed in its earnings report.
This strategic development, coupled with other positive gains shared during the report, has been favorably received by investors, as evidenced by a notable surge in Jumia’s share price from $2.40 to $3.55 in the aftermath of its earnings call. This investor confidence suggests a belief in Jumia's ability to successfully navigate the competitive landscape and capitalize on the opportunities presented by opening its logistics network.