₦airaland Forum

By Emmanuel Nwachukwu


The outbreak of the novel COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the world economy negatively and has led to significant shifts in customer needs and behaviour as well as reconfiguration business operating models. The resultant socioeconomic reality has created unprecedented challenges for sellers, thus making businesses explore new territories to maintain relevance and grow sales, with digital tools and ecommerce platforms proving crucial in achieving these objectives.


An Adobe report released mid July revealed that the pandemic has massively accelerated the growth of ecommerce, as data showed a total online spending in May hit $82.5 billion, up 77% year-on-year. The report went on to show that the growth is unprecedented, and without the pandemic, it would have taken four to six years for ecommerce to record such impressive figures.

According to Vivek Pandya, Adobe’s Digital Insights Manager, “it would’ve taken between 4 and 6 years to get to the levels that we saw in May if the growth continued at the same levels it was at for the past few years. We typically don’t expect to see surges at this level, at any time outside of the holiday season. For context, last year’s holiday season drove $142.5 billion dollars from November 1st to December 31st, and that was a 13% year-over-year increase.”

Around the same period, Africa's ecommerce platform unicorn, Jumia said it experienced increased customer traffic on its platform. “This is an unprecedented time for a vendor to be online. Just to give you a grasp of the milestone achieved by Jumia; only in the month of May, we recorded a daily highest number of vendors with at least one sale across the full year; we recorded daily highest number of buying customers across the full year; we also recorded daily highest number of individual products purchased on the platform since the beginning of the year,” said Jumia Nigeria CEO, Massimiliano Spalazzi.

While the pandemic has triggered a surge in online purchase culture globally, the emerging trend could mean a lot more customers will become a native of the online community, which experts believe will rub off immensely on the profitability of ecommerce business. "We are seeing signs that online purchasing trends formed during the pandemic may see permanent adoption,” said Taylor Schreiner, Director, Adobe Digital Insights, said in a statement.

Insight from the Nigerian ecommerce landscape shows that the pandemic has incited a new shopping pattern, as people are visiting online stores for purchase of electronics and gadgets which are vital tools in the emerging post covid business world. “As authorities relax restrictions and people start going out more and more in the last few weeks, we have seen top selling categories; appliances, phones, laptops, starting to increase sales again as people start the new normal in their work and personal lives,” said Spalazzi.

Also, health concerns will remain a factor for consumers to keep the online shopping trend going. With the World Health Organization warning of a possible second wave of infection, people would tend to remain conscious of the risk the virus poses and as such continue to deploy ecommerce for essential needs from the safety of their remote locations. Besides, the convenience of ecommerce will also be a huge factor. A survey of some first time ecommerce customers in some European markets revealed that the convenience of ecommerce experienced during the lockdown would make them alter their plan for shopping in the future.

Consequently, brands whose supply chain was affected by the ripple effect of the pandemic are aligning their strategy with this emerging ecommerce buying culture. A recent research showed that 75% of U.S companies would have had their supply chain affected by the outbreak. This means limited inventory, upset customers and possibly several canceled orders.

In Nigeria and by extension Africa, brands including Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Mastercard etc moved their products and services to the Jumia platform, either showcasing their products on the Jumia Mall or advertising their products on the Jumia Marketplace and benefiting from the Jumia’s wide reach and logistics operations. This would translate to more revenue for ecommerce companies, with their logistics and advertising offerings becoming potent tools for connecting brands and customers.

Likewise, the pandemic has been an eye opener for governments in emerging market to the huge economic potentials of ecommerce. Given the crucial role played by the ecommerce industry in the movement and supply of essentials during the lockdown, it is a major indicator for authorities, especially in Africa, that given adequate support and suitable working environment, ecommerce can be a major contributor to economic growth. It is thus expected that the positive roles played by the sector during this tough time, will help in the advocacy for favourable policies that will further boost ecommerce on the continent.

It is, therefore, safe to say that while every human endeavour has been eroded by COVID-19 pandemic, the ecommerce space might be one of, if not, the greatest benefactors of the pandemic in the long run. The pandemic has further highlighted technology and its digital offerings as the future of all socioeconomic activities. And as more activities are brought onto the digital space, it will no doubt rub off on businesses in the online marketplace.

Emmanuel Nwachukwu, a Business and Communications Strategist writes from Lagos

By Ayomide Oriade

COVID-19 global health crisis unleashed a far-reaching socio-economic impact that forced thousands of firms to fold up and put several thousand at the risk of being forced out of business. Most affected are Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) who are the major economic drivers. Global economy pre-COVID was estimated at $90 trillion. Following the pandemic, estimates so far indicate that the virus could trim global economic growth by 3% to 6% in 2020, global trade could also fall by 13 to 32%, assuming there’s no second wave of infections.

Bringing it home, the World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations initially predicted that COVID-19 pandemic may lead to loss of 13 million jobs in Nigeria. As the pandemic hit hard on the Nigerian economy, Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning stated that the COVID-19 pandemic is projected to have affected 21 million jobs in the country. MSMEs account for over 65% of jobs and employment in Nigeria. It thus takes a simple economic calculation to decipher that these job losses are results of businesses forced to close shop in the thick of the pandemic and its resultant restrictive measures. Apt pointer to this is the report of a research conducted by the Nigeria Consultative Association (NECA), which revealed that 74.2% of businesses in Nigeria stopped operating due to the pandemic.

Online marketplace as a conduit for sales

With the realities of COVID-19, businesses are being forced to learn, unlearn, rethink and restrategize their model, and ecommerce has emerged the surest route to survival and sustenance, especially for SMEs. The pandemic is moving a key component of the marketing mix, (place - the meeting point for customer and seller) to online platforms, businesses are thus required to increase online presence and grow sales using digital tools.

Buttressing this, the Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan-Atlantic University recently conducted a survey on the impact of coronavirus on small businesses. About 88% of MSME owner-respondents said they would tinker with their business models, with 47% likely to consider new businesses due to the harsh realities of the pandemic. These are mainly due to the influence of technology which has now re-defined the way business is done.

For SMEs in the Nigerian economic space, the ecommerce industry appears to be channeling a path to recovery, by providing a meeting point with customers in the emerging shopping order. “In the last few months, we’ve seen that e-commerce is crucial to the Nigerian economy, with more people shifting their activities online at a faster pace: working and shopping are coming online faster than we thought and imagined before. Jumia became a place where communities across Nigeria came to buy all sorts of products: groceries, fashion. During this time, more brands come online to partner with Jumia by putting their products and services on our platform or advertising offers on Jumia Advertising,” said Jumia Nigeria CEO, Massimiliano Spalazzi.

How Ecommerce helps SMEs

The framework for ecommerce operations are flexible, cost-effective, and offers wider reach- which is crucial for SMEs during this time. Using Jumia as a case study, SMEs can easily leverage the offerings of the platform to reach more audience and make more sales. “Sellers interested in listing his products/wares on the platform can easily apply on the site. We verify the authenticity of the products and checks if the seller has all the legal prerequisites to sell, especially for products sold only if recommended by an expert. We thereafter train the seller on how to use the website and make revenue. It’s as simple as that,” said Chief Commercial Officer, Jumia Nigeria, Omolola Oladunjoye.

Interestingly, the display of products on ecommerce platforms such as Jumia, Konga, Jiji and the likes within the Nigerian space attracts no hidden charges. Aside from benefiting from the clout of ecommerce brands, the financial investment needed for marketing is also covered for sellers by these platforms. This is a huge overhead SMEs can do without in their COVID survival battle. Ecommerce platforms like Jumia bear financial requirements for online and offline advertising, search engine optimization, and social media exposure for sellers on their platform. There are also special campaigns like Tech Week, Black Friday and Anniversary Campaigns during which sellers on ecommerce platforms benefit from high customer traffic to improve their sales volume.

Getting rent off the bill will be a huge relief for any business in these tough times, and this is where warehouse facilities of ecommerce platforms come in handy for sellers. Most ecommerce companies have large warehouses in almost all major cities. For instance, Jumia has its largest warehouse in Lagos. There are other storage warehouses owned by the company in commercial nerve centers across the country. Jumia has hundreds of pickup stations in Nigeria, while Konga also said it has improved on warehouse sites nationwide. Another crucial benefit is the speed and ease of shipment sellers can leverage on ecommerce platforms. Given the recent surge in online patronage triggered by the pandemic, Nigeria ecommerce leaders like Jumia and Konga said they have upped their last-mile capacity with more delivery partners and associates.

From all indications, embracing the marketing features of online stores would be key for SMEs in their quest for survival and sustainability in the new market realities imposed by the pandemic. The good news for Nigerian SMEs is that the ecommerce landscape also provides several options that can be leveraged for their business revival.

Ayomide Oriade, a Public Relations Executive writes from Lagos

By Emmanuel Nwachukwu

When the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) broke out in the Wuhan province in China on the eve of the New Year, the government of the country quickly shut down the province and restricted the people from travelling in or out of the province until it became clear they had fully contained the spread of the virus. This restriction became part of the initial items on the protocol that most countries had to adapt as the disease became a pandemic, affecting many countries of the world.


With the lockdown restrictions, most economic and social activities almost came to a halt, except those organisations that delivered essential services to the people as well as businesses that dealt on food items, medicals/medicines and other goods and services needed for people’s daily upkeep. The fallout of these restrictions, in Nigeria like most other countries, included scarcity and its attendant increase in prices of consumer goods and services and the inconvenience of living with a shortage of some basic domestic needs. People, in a bid to access their basic needs, turned to e-commerce and began ordering for their necessities on the few online shopping platforms available in Nigeria, led by Jumia Nigeria.


The e-commerce businesses ensured that shoppers could do their purchases – from food/groceries, medications, water and other essential needs to even personal electronics and gadgets – pay and have them delivered to their doorsteps even without physically going to the stores. Jumia even went a notch higher than its peers in delivering these supplies in the most social distancing-compliant manner by introducing the contactless delivery system, where the delivery men drop customers’ orders at their doorsteps, move three metres back and call the customers to come and pick up their orders.


Producers, too, in their bid to reach their consumers turned to these e-commerce platforms who gave them, not just visibility but also access to their consumers. Some global brands including Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Mastercard etc moved their products and services to the Jumia platform, either showcasing their products on the Jumia Mall or advertising their products on the Jumia Marketplace and benefiting from the Jumia’s wide reach and logistics operations.


The harsh economic consequences of the lockdown became so unbearable for citizens that, after about two months, the government had to ease the restrictions to allow some form of economic activities. Mr Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Federal Government (SGF) and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 interventions, in announcing the beginning of the third and final phase relaxation of the lockdown restrictions, warned that the government’s new measures were not because the pandemic has gone away but to ameliorate the economic hardship that the citizens went through during the lockdown. He then charged the citizens to take personal responsibility in ensuring that they stay safe from the disease as they went about their productive ventures.


The fear of the huge presence of the disease, nay the increasing number of infected persons as well as the mounting number of deaths from the disease, coupled with the many incentives that online shopping offers consumers, are the reasons many Nigerians are yet to fully embrace their lifestyles of old, thus sticking with the e-commerce platforms as their preferred stores instead of the physical markets, supermarkets and malls.


The mass conversion to online shopping during and post the lockdown period, gave the e-commerce platforms a major commercial boost. Jumia, Africa’s leading e-commerce platform recorded a significant month-on-month increase in the number of orders on its platform, a bold indication of the heavy recourse that customers place on them.


In its Quarter 1 financial statement that was recently released, Jumia gross profit was €18.4 million, a year-over-year increase of 21 percent. The number of annual active consumers on its platform was 6.4 million, a 51 percent increase over the last year’s figure. Customers’ orders grew to 6.4 million, a 28 percent increase over what it was as at 31 March, 2019.


Third-party verification (TPV) value reached €35.5 million, a year-over-year increase of 71 percent, taking on-platform TPV penetration from 10 percent in the first quarter of 2019 to 19 percent in the first quarter of 2020. JumiaPay transactions reached 2.3 million, a year-over-year increase of 77 percent, representing 35 percent on-platform penetration in terms of orders. The company’s operating loss was €43.7 million, a four percent decrease year-over-year.


Jumia is not alone in reaping from the upsurge in the e-commerce activities as a result of the COVID-10 pandemic. Amazon’s e-commerce platform sells approximately $11,000-worth of goods every second, thanks to the movement restriction occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic. Also, the Amazon Web Services (AWS), its cloud-computing division, during the lockdown, records more than 100m people who make Zoom calls during the day and a similar number who watch Netflix at night during the same period.


Also, Walmart Inc, the world’s largest retailer saw its U.S. e-commerce sales surge as much as 74 percent in the first quarter, mainly on strength in grocery pickup and delivery. That positive outcome made the company focus more attention on the online shopping business during the stay-at-home period, and certainly, the company’s long-drawn and concerted efforts to step up its online game paid off well.


With the gradual return to the normal way of life after a period of enforced lockdown restrictions worldwide, albeit the huge presence of the disease, many people, especially those who have experienced the benefits of the online shopping during the period of the lockdown, would not likely go back to physical shopping, at least, not for now. This means more fortunes for e-commerce platforms.


Emmanuel Nwachukwu, a Business and Communications Strategist writes from Lagos

By Ezedi Udom

The digital economy pre-corona virus disease (COVID-19) pandemic was embraced largely by glamourous people who were being driven by a lifestyle of sophistry. So, it was more of a status symbol, a show practice than a necessity. Despite the various promotional campaigns that pointed to the unlimited products, convenience and the cost-saving attributes of the digital economy, it was only seen as some novel and problematic concept that put people at unnecessary risk.

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic and its various restrictions – the social distancing and shelter-in-place restrictions (lockdown), as well as the economic lockdown that came with these restrictions. One of the initial consequences of these restrictions were panic buying which resulted in crowded markets and supermarkets, increase in prices of commodities and then the scarcity of the various essential and non-essential goods. These happened albeit the fact that the government exempted the essential workers and people who are engaged in the production of food, water and other essential goods.

Those who had converted to the digital economy – e-commerce and e-payment – led their lives without having the pangs of the consequences of those government-imposed restrictions as they went on and got all their basic essentials from the various online platforms that never had a disruption in their service delivery. Other people soon began converting to the digital economy in their numbers, ordering and paying for their needs and services online from the comfort of their homes and had them delivered to them promptly. Even big-time producers like the Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Mastercard etc got converted and tweaked their supply chains to include offering their products and services on the Jumia e-commerce platform.

The reward from the increased digital economic activities was quick for companies in the digital economic space such as those in the e-commerce delivering goods and services to consumers and those processing the payments of these goods through contactless platforms like credit and debit cards. Jumia, Africa’s leading e-commerce platform significant traction month-on-month increase in the number of orders on its platform, a bold indication of the heavy recourse that customers place on them.

In the report of its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, Jumia recorded huge improvements in all measuring indices over the same period last year, signalling that the e-commerce company thrived in the period of the COVID-19 lockdown.

During the period under review, Jumia gross profit was €18.4 million, a year-over-year increase of 21 percent. The number of annual active consumers on its platform was 6.4 million, a 51 percent increase over the last year’s figure. Customers’ orders grew to 6.4 million, a 28 percent increase over what it was as at 31 March 2019.

Total payment value (TPV) reached €35.5 million, a year-over-year increase of 71 percent, taking on-platform TPV penetration from 10 percent in the first quarter of 2019 to 19 percent in the first quarter of 2020. JumiaPay transactions reached 2.3 million, a year-over-year increase of 77 percent, representing 35 percent on-platform penetration in terms of orders. The company’s operating loss was €43.7 million, a four percent decrease year-over-year.

Although the increase in e-commerce boosted the use of cards and mobile payments in recent years owing to convenience, ease, flexibility, speed and security, the continued COVID-19 pandemic has further increased the use of contactless payments as cash payments increase one’s risk of contracting the disease.

According to new research conducted by Crowdfund Insider in May, 50 percent of U.S. consumers reportedly availed of contactless payment methods at least four times with 69 percent agreeing that this mode is more convenient than cash transactions. Also, 60 percent of U.S. consumers confirmed that these hassle-free digital payments will urge them to continue with the process even in the post-COVID world.

Another research conducted by Capgemini, a consultancy giant and BNP Paribas shows that transactions carried out by people all over the world using digital payment technologies are expected to hit USD726 billion by 2020. This expectation is being driven by the emerging markets’ increasing adoption of digital payment services across all market segments which will bring about an increase in the volume of non-cash payments, according to Christophe Vergne, Capgemini’s Practice Leader (Cards & Payment).

Even though the United States still lags in respect of adopting cashless payments, the country is catching up fast in that direction. In a 2018 study conducted by A T Kearney, a global management consulting firm, just three percent of the cards used was contactless in the country compared to around 64 percent in the United Kingdom and 96 percent in South Korea.

One major fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic is the paradigm shift it has brought about in people’s lifestyle. More and more people are having more recourse to e-commerce subsector of the economy, shopping and paying for the goods and services online. What seemed to be a luxury thing is now embraced as a necessity, and there is no gainsaying, the converts, having tasted the convenience and cost-saving attributes, will move back to their old ways of physical shopping and cash payment systems. The digital economy has now become the new normal.

Ezedi, a Business and Communication Expert, writes from Lagos

By Emmanuel Nwachukwu

The e-commerce revolution which sparked off in 1994 with a meagre $12.48 worth of transactions, has grown to a whopping $27 trillion market in 2020, according to eMarketer’s rating. Although the revolution started in the United States, it quickly extended to many countries in Europe and Asia, coming later to Nigeria in the past decade.

Unlike in the US and Europe, the revolution did not quite hit Nigeria with force as adoption of e-commerce was very slow for obvious reasons like internet penetration, distrust for virtual dealings, poor logistics infrastructure, huge capital requirement and low disposable income. These resulted in the low patronage that, in turn, accounted for the high fatality rate of the many e-commerce platforms that ventured to open shop in the country. In order to overcome most of these challenges, the e-commerce platforms had to find their own way out by singlehandedly creating the environment they needed to thrive.

Jumia Nigeria, Africa’s leading e-commerce platform, and a couple of other e-commerce platforms that survived found a way to navigate this less-than-desired rate of patronage to stay afloat. For example, with regards to the issue of logistics, that is, moving the merchandise from their warehouses to their customers, these e-commerce platforms moved away from their traditional buying and selling to logistics operations. Jumia Nigeria, according to its chief executive officer, Massimiliano Spalazzi, entered into strategic partnerships with logistics services providers in order to deliver its customers’ orders to them.

“Most of our peers abroad ride on the back of the existing logistics infrastructure in their countries of operation. For example, Amazon, on inception, relied on the US Postal Service for their delivery needs until they were able to develop their own channels. We, in Nigeria, do not have such a luxury as the local postal services are unable to meet our desired speed so we had to create our own logistics infrastructure, albeit the huge capital costs,” Spalazzi said.

To address the country’s logistics needs, the government could do well and provide more funding for the revitalization of the Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) for greater efficiency. If this is done, NIPOST could provide logistics support to the e-commerce platforms at a much-reduced cost. This will, in turn, deliver greater value to the customer and boost the e-commerce sector in general.

On the issue of trust in the e-commerce sector, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the fintech companies are working to enhance the level of trust in the sector by ensuring that transactions are concluded as fast as possible and that, in the case of failed transactions, refunds are made within 48 hours. Although this is an improvement of the seven days it used to take for the resolution of such issues in the past, it is still below the expectation of these customers, who want an immediate refund. To this end, Jumia, according to its CEO, has created its own payment platform, JumiaPay, for more efficient, secure and convenient payment experience.

According to Spalazzi, “Jumia customers, who use JumiaPay for payment of their orders, get instant reimbursement if their transaction fails to go through unlike their peers on other platforms, who would not have to wait for 24 to 48 hours for their refund.”

Another area the government can help to boost the e-commerce sector is to grow internet penetration in the country. For a sector that largely depends on the internet for its operations, a 42 percent internet penetration is a big snag. Worse still, the internet services are poor and unstable at times, and come at very high costs to the users. The government, through its regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission, should work with the internet service providers to build more infrastructure that will enhance data carriage across the country, and to ensure that such services are delivered at cheaper costs.

A major reason many service providers don’t last for long in business in the sector is the huge capital requirement for e-commerce operations. In Nigeria, access to finance is highly limited or comes at a high cost, especially for start-ups. This, coupled with lack of logistics and internet infrastructure, makes the e-commerce business a nightmare for existing and prospective operators. To address this access to financing issues, the government may consider creating financing windows for operators in the sector.

Although some of these challenges, especially that of access to finance, are not peculiar to the e-commerce sector, the call for some kind of special intervention in this sector is based on the country’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic experience. The e-commerce sector contributed heavily to the measure of success the government achieved when it issued restriction orders on movement and economic activities in its bid to contain the community spread of COVID-19 in the country. These e-commerce platforms took their customers’ orders during the lockdown period and supplied the same to them in the comfort of their homes. They still do this now that we are in the post-lockdown era.

The period of the lockdown was actually an eye opener as to the role the e-commerce sector could play in the life of Nigerians, on the one hand, and on the economy on the other. Although some Nigerians had partially converted to e-commerce before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in the country, the lockdown gave the biggest incentives for the conversion of many Nigerians to online shopping. Restricted by the force of the law and the safety concerns, many Nigerians turned to e-commerce for the supply of most of their essentials.

Consumers were not the only group of people that benefited from e-commerce during the lockdown, and the period after. Some global brands including Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Mastercard etc moved their products and services to the Jumia platform, either showcasing their products on the Jumia Mall or advertising their products on the Jumia Marketplace and benefiting from the Jumia’s wide reach and logistics operations.

From the roles that Jumia and other e-commerce platforms played during and after the lockdown days, and the fact that the pandemic is still with us, it is evident that the e-commerce sector deserves a special attention to assist it in achieving its potentials of keeping Nigerians safe, at least, until the pandemic has been defeated.

Emmanuel Nwachukwu, a Business and Communication Strategist, writes from Lagos

E-commerce platforms have proven to be critical enablers of economic growth and social development for Nigeria in spite of the myriad challenges occasioned by the tough operating environment.



A key player, Jumia is fostering cashless and financial inclusion by encouraging Nigerians to move from brick-and-mortar malls to selling and shopping online and making payment for goods online thereby promoting the digital economy.



With Jumia online marketplace, usage of electronic transactions in Nigeria continues to increase, banks are becoming more innovative with electronic banking products and services while more fintech companies are investing in the economy.



Jumia is promoting the growth of MSMEs and large businesses by offering sellers its online marketplace, logistics, and last-mile platforms to increase their customer base, reach the target market faster and become more competitive, profitable, and sustainable.



Support for enterprises and the Jumia system are solving the critical high unemployment problem, especially among the youth by creating direct and indirect jobs. Jumia’s over 5,000 employees form a significant critical mass of employment.



National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that SMEs in Nigeria contributed about 48% on average to the national GDP in the last five years and accounted for about 50% of industrial jobs and nearly 90% of activities in the manufacturing sector.



E-commerce is becoming a potent tool for the government to optimize digitalization as a key component of economic diversification, and also to meet the new compelling need of enforcing social distancing as a key measure in flattening community transmission of COVID-19.



The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 has issued several warnings of increasing number of unsuspected asymptomatic carriers of coronavirus with Nigeria now at “active community transmission” stage.



Thus, online shopping, digital payment/virtual transactions and online interactions hold the ace for the future to promote social distancing and avoidance of crowded places such as brick-and-mortar shopping malls, supermarkets, open markets and banking halls where the possibility of contracting the virus is high.



COVID-19 outbreak has significantly disrupted global supply chains among other activities. The Economist indicated that online retailers including Jumia boomed in the wake of the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria, in 2014, as more consumers shopped online for fear of contracting the deadly disease. Orders on Jumia reportedly tripled due to increased demand for hygiene products like hand-wash, bleach and other cleaning products.



The same trend also played out recently during the peak of lockdown in Nigeria. Scarcity of protective items like hand sanitisers, facemasks, gloves and reagents, and hoarding and price gouging of essentials like tissue paper and sanitary products was reported in some parts of Nigeria due to surge in demand amidst supply shortages.



Through its online marketplace and partnership with sellers such as Reckitt Benckiser, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, The Coca-Cola Company and other sellers, Jumia helped to mitigate supply crisis by facilitating movement of inventories from the factories to its warehouses and online marketplace and then to the consumers.



Jumia also ensured the sellers maintained fair pricing policy while it reported some sellers to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission over price gouging.



Jumia defied constant harassment of its field workers transporting groceries and other agricultural produce from the hinterland to the cities, by security agents enforcing interstate border movement restriction, who ignored government’s designation of e-commerce and logistics operators as essential service providers.



Jumia Food was on the move delivering food packages to millions of Nigerians observing lockdown, thanks to partnership with third parties like QSR outlets and kitchens.



With JumiaPay and Contactless Delivery platforms, social distancing and cashless transactions were significantly promoted, thereby limiting person-to-person contact and containing further spread of COVID-19.



Jumia’s Q1 2020 financials indicated that the e-commerce and e-payment system indeed increased demand for brands and caused uptake in delivery of essentials to more people. Sellers also sold faster while more brands and sellers were eager to join the Jumia marketplace and logistics/supply value chain to boost access to market.



There was also strong demand from offline convenience retailers to join the Jumia on-demand platform and increasing advertisers’ interest for online channels as a result of consumption shifting online.



Visa in a June 2020 survey affirmed that 71% of consumers interviewed among the banked population in Nigeria shopped online for the first time as a result of the pandemic.


However, despite showing high growth potential and occasional spikes in online shopping in crisis times, these cannot be interpreted as long-term sustainability for Nigeria's retail e-commerce.


E-commerce operators are faced with challenges that are inimical to their growth and the larger economy given the interplay between e-commerce and MSMEs.


Dearth of critical infrastructure like roads, inefficient transportation and insecurity inhibit movement of groceries from rural areas where food crops are planted to the cities and movement of goods across distant locations. Erratic electric power supply and multiplicity of tax also increase the cost of doing business in Nigeria.


PricewaterCoopers in its June MSME Survey 2020 with the theme, Building to Last: Navigating MSME Growth and Sustainability – A New Decade, noted that lack of infrastructure, inadequate skilled manpower, multiplicity of taxes, high cost of doing business among others still persist and hindering SMEs growth and development.

Barriers to obtaining bank loans is a major obstacle to small businesses including e-commerce operators thereby limiting their capacity to expand their infrastructure. “In emerging markets and developing economies, 55% to 68% of formal SMEs are either unserved or underserved by financial institutions, leading to a total credit gap estimated to be USD5.1 trillion,” PwC noted.


It estimated the financing gap for Nigerian MSMEs to be about N617.3 billion annually (pre-COVID-19 pandemic), adding that, based on analysis of data from the CBN annual statistical bulletin, small businesses accounted for less than 1% of total commercial banking credit in 2018. The NBS added that less than 5% of SMEs have been able to access adequate finance for working capital and funding business growth/expansion.


Low consumer trust about the quality of online goods and the activities of cyber fraudsters as well as low purchasing power of Nigerians as a result of loss of income or job due to COVID-19 inhibit new customer acquisition and retention. Many times, ROI for huge marketing and advertising spend on customer acquisition is nil.


E-commerce platforms’ fatality has been recorded within the last eight years. For example, Efritin.com, an online marketplace, shut down after barely 16 months in Nigeria. Its Swedish investor, Saltside, attributed that they “didn’t get desired returns on their investment.”


Nevertheless, the time looks good to spur e-commerce growth in Nigeria. Forecasts show that online retail stores will grow due to expected influx of online shoppers due to post COVID-19 new normal.


But governments must promote an enabling environment for e-commerce and MSMES to thrive. Fix critical infrastructure such as roads, transportation, power and telecommunications. Ease of doing business initiatives including tax incentives for MSMEs, harmonisation of taxes, improved security and increased access to credits must be implemented.


Encourage adoption of online shopping and electronic payment among Nigerians, and digitisation of businesses to strengthen cashless and financial inclusion policy.


In light of the expected take-off of Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) regional trade market come January 2021, the growth of e-commerce directly impacts SMEs capacity, competitiveness and quality of services they render.


With Nigeria’s current online commerce estimated at $12 billion, and projection to reach $75 billion in revenues per annum by 2025, according to McKinsey, the economic outlook for the country looks good post COVID-19 and beyond. But removing barriers in the way of e-commerce and SMEs is exigent.

As part of its 8th anniversary celebration, Jumia Nigeria is rewarding customers on its platform. In a special edition of the Anniversary giveaway, tagged “Explosion Day”, customers who visit the platform on Friday 3rd of July stand a chance of getting amazing deals at almost 99.9% off and winning prizes under different categories on the website and Jumia Mobile App. Here are the various initiatives:

In the Treasure Hunt category, customers can buy high value items for 99% at almost free price by searching the treasure hidden item in the product category. This offer is open today Friday, July 3rd at 12 midnight and by 6pm to customers only on the Jumia App.

Under the Flash Sales category, several sanitary, hygiene, gadget, electronics and household products, such as soap, diaper, fan, phones, laptops, video games, wristwatches, furnitures, and others are being offered to customers at slashed prices. This offer is open at 12am, 10am, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm to customers on the Jumia App.

Customers can also win Jumia Vouchers which offer them the chance to shop from Jumia’s top category products, such as home entertainment systems, sophisticated smartphones. The Voucher offer is open to customers on both web and App.

There is also the spin and win category which gives customers the opportunity to win a cash prize of N10,000. This is available to customers on the Jumia App.

The Jumia anniversary celebration has been an exciting one for all Jumia Customers since June 22nd 2020. If you’re yet to enjoy mouth watering discounts since the beginning of the celebration, now is the time, up until July 5th. Don’t dull!

By Ezedi Udom

It has been widely said that the aftermath of the Coronavirus outbreak includes the new reality that we will never return to our familiar world of normal. Instead, we are now in a world of new normal that implies we embrace new ways of doing things.


Interestingly, one of the positive game-changing new realities that the Coronavirus pandemic is impacting on the ecosystem is the increasing popularity of online shopping and importance of e-commerce platforms like Alibaba, Amazon and Jumia, to mention a few.


According to experts, despite the multifarious adverse effects of COVID-19, one of the emerging new fundamentals arising from the pandemic is the better understanding that digital and e-commerce operators played pivotal role in ensuring cross-country and cross border movement and delivery of essentials such as groceries, pharmaceuticals and medicaments in the peak of the crisis.


The International Trade Centre in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa at a recent online event on the future of e-commerce in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, affirmed that e-commerce could help Africa’s businesses relaunch and return to profitability.


“During the pandemic, e-commerce solutions have played a critical role in ensuring business continuity for many companies. They have been a crucial channel for providing vital goods and services. For many micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Africa, e-commerce has offered a lifeline and can continue to play a principal role in their economic recovery,” it was reported.


More cheering news is that the new normal is presenting more opportunities to push e-commerce further upscale. In fact, we might be entering the ‘e-commerce era’ as the pandemic represents a big opportunity that can spur further growth of the evolving e-commerce sector in Nigeria and other African countries with Jumia leading other operators from the front.


Nigeria currently ranks on the list of countries with high daily COVID-19 infection while the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 has warned of many unsuspected asymptomatic cases. This alert is a wise counsel to limit physical contact.


Increasing safety awareness and consciousness among Nigerians means that as months go by, most people will be compelled to limit physical interactions by shopping and transacting businesses online more; work more remotely from home and do lots more digitally.


The transition in consumer behaviour and business activities to the online space from the traditional brick-and-mortar settings is expected to significantly increase the number of online shoppers and ultimately double the growth of Jumia and other e-commerce players.


With Jumia marketplace, Jumia Services (logistics), JumiaPay and Jumia Food amongst other innovative offerings, Nigerians can avoid coming in contact with unsuspected COVID-19 infected persons that they may unknowingly meet if they go shopping in the malls, supermarkets, open markets or banking halls that are usually overcrowded.


More residents adopting social and physical distancing by making use of e-commerce platforms for their purchase and payments, have the propensity to impact the growth potential of Nigeria’s e-commerce ecosystem in the coming months.


As the federal and state governments allow more sectors of the economy to reopen for business, more consumers and sellers will certainly migrate online to enjoy better shopping experience including convenience and faster ordering, payment and delivery of orders, and cost efficiency for both buyers and sellers.


The anticipated shift in the buying and selling habits can include the fact that many buyers will be less willing to go to crowded malls or shops to purchase things. They will also not likely try to buy items that other customers have already touched or test-fitted in case of ready-to-wear clothes in the boutiques.


The fear of coronavirus being transmitted through exchange of cash also makes online shopping and online payments a new frontier for many shoppers.


With an increasing number of employees working from home, and government limiting social events because of the need to curb large gatherings, online demand for and supply of casual and leisure wear have been predicted to rise. This trend in itself will boost MSMEs garment manufacturers.


Experts also expect increased demand for virtual banking and cashless transactions to spike e-commerce growth in the country. With safety-consciousness as the new norm, more Nigerians will likely not be comfortable around crowded ATMs or spend time in crowded bank halls to make transactions. They will rather opt for online banking like JumiaPay, which they can do from the comfort of their home.


Also, it is almost certain that many people now do not like to use ATMs used by people whose COVID-19 status they may be unsure of. Even at the malls, supermarkets or retail fuel stations, Nigerians are becoming more wary of handing over their credit cards to shop assistants and attendants whose compliance with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) hygiene practices’ protocol they cannot verify. More time online will increase the efficacy of the website as a marketing channel.


With eyes on economic diversification through non-oil commodities, promoting financial inclusion among the unbanked segment of the population, and tapping on the digital economy to increase GDP, the Nigerian government has so much to gain by encouraging more Nigerians and businesses especially MSMEs to take advantage of digitalisation with e-commerce being the catalyst.


And as the economy reopens in full throttle in coming weeks and months, it should be noted the enforcement of social distancing and avoidance of crowded places would only be achieved when there is transitioning of consumer and business activities from the brick-and-mortar structures to the online marketplace.


Ezedi Udom, a Business Communications Expert writes from Lagos.

By Ayomide Oriade

People have come to celebrate particular birthdays as milestones in their lives. Such people regard first, fifth, tenth, twenty-fifth, fortieth, fiftieth etc as milestones when they roll out the big drums. They regard the ‘non-milestone’ commemorations as if they are of less significance than the so-called milestones. Same goes for non-human creations, whose ‘birthdays’ are regarded as anniversaries. Going by these standards, one may think that rolling out the big drums to celebrate Jumia’s eighth year anniversary is a bit exuberant but it is not, and I am going to tell you why.

Prior to 2012, most Nigerians used to hear of people who shop at the comfort of their homes and have their orders delivered to them. They used to be some of those foreign stories, told by the privileged few who have lived overseas, that depicted Nigeria as underdeveloped and ‘local’. Those of our compatriots who live here but could shop abroad were seen as exceptionally sophisticated while the rest of us only wished we could one-day be so privileged.

A few companies that ventured to make this wish come true only fizzled out a couple of years after they commenced operations. The reasons for their unfortunate wind-up are not far from our local business and social environment whose realities are, not only far from business friendly, but also mean to start-ups. Jim Ovia of the Zenith Bank fame once observed that for entrepreneurs to survive in Nigeria, they must have what he called ‘a high adversity quotient,’ the ability to withstand and overcome the impact of the various punches – lack of access to credit, ill-equipped workforce, government interference, developmental challenges etc – that the operating environment throws at them.

For surviving eight years of these punches in Nigeria, nay, growing from strength to strength, excursions to other African countries, is a reason to roll out the big drums for Jumia at eight, at least to celebrate it for thriving where others have failed or are struggling to stand.

Another reason for celebrating Jumia’s eighth year anniversary is the revolution it has brought to the e-commerce sector in Africa in general and Nigeria, in particular. It has demystified and democratised the sophistication that was a privilege for the very few Nigerians as recently as the beginning of this decade. Today, Nigerians, like their counterparts in Europe and America, can sit in the comfort of their homes, order and pay for goods and services and have them delivered to them, without physically visiting the shops.

This revolution did not come by chance. It took the ingenuity and deftness of Jeremy Hodara and Sacha Poignonnec, both ex-McKinsey consultants along with Tunde Kehinde and Raphael Kofi Afaedor to found the company; the focus and discipline of the managers of the business to be able to navigate the various challenges that abound in the operating environment to grow Jumia from a start-up in 2012 to the continent’s first unicorn being valued over one billion dollars (USD1 billion) in 2016.

These people deployed the Blue Ocean strategy to create the e-commerce market, which was non-existent at the time. This strategy helped them to deal with the trust issues that pervaded financial transactions, the communication network challenges, logistics challenges in the country in addition to the basic challenges that come with their core line of business. These successes that the company has recorded in such a short time as eight years are what we are celebrating.

Another big achievement the company has recorded in its few years of operations is the boost it has given to micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) in its countries of operations in Africa. Jumia offers all manufacturers, distributors and sellers, mostly of whom are MSMEs, a platform to sell their goods and services to their consumers. The company also offers logistics service, which enables the shipment and delivery of packages from sellers to consumers, and a payment service, which facilitates transactions among participants active on Jumia’s platform in selected markets.

Jumia Nigeria alone has over 15,000 active sellers, about 80 percent of whom are MSMEs, offering a wide range of goods including smartphones, consumer electronics, fashion and apparel, home and living, consumer packaged goods, beauty and perfumes etc. The platform saves most of these MSMEs the cost of renting and operating physical stores, thereby increasing their profitability and boosting their growth.

For the consumers, Jumia has been a wish come true. The company has been a trailblazer in the e-commerce sector of the economy, offering the widest variety of products and services at the most competitive prices, and in the most convenient way. One cannot imagine what would have become of Nigerians during the period of the lockdown occasioned by the corona virus disease pandemic. With a general restriction on most economic activities and even on movement, Jumia led a couple of other e-commerce platforms that ensured that the basic needs of consumers were delivered to them as and when needed. This role also ensured that the objectives of the lockdown were achieved to a very large extent.

While many may think that eighth anniversary is not a milestone to be celebrated, Jumia’s eight years of operation have been very eventful, impactful and filled with milestones, not only to the company’s various stakeholders but also to the Nigerian economy, where the ripple effects of its operations have contributed in no small measure to the growth of the economy. This is why the company is being celebrated on the eighth anniversary of its operations.

By Ezedi Udom

With over 1 billion people and 500 million internet users in Africa, e-commerce has in the last 8 years improved the quality of lives on the continent by helping consumers to shop and pay for millions of products online at the best prices wherever they live. Thanks to the various players championing this cause, such as Jumia, Konga, Payporte, Mall for Africa; the list is endless. E-commerce is also creating new opportunities for SMEs to grow, and job opportunities for a new generation to thrive.

In 2019 more than 110,000 sellers, including local African companies and entrepreneurs partnered with Jumia, for instance, to sell their products on the platform which attracts millions of customers daily. This way, Jumia, with presence in 11 African countries, has bolstered the growth of micro, small, medium enterprises, online shopping, digital payment, logistics and supply value chain as well as the fintech ecosystem, thereby promoting not only cashless and digital economy but financial inclusion for the unbanked population across Africa and Nigeria in particular.

Trailing the successes achieved by e-Commerce giants like Alibaba, Amazon etc., Jumia has offered unparalleled innovative online shopping and retailing experience for Nigerian consumers, a good growth trajectory for MSMEs and large businesses operating in the essential sectors such as food and agriculture, pharmaceuticals, FMCGs, QSR, and non-essentials like electronics/electrical appliances.

Small businesses are not the only entities taking advantage of the e-commerce boom. For instance, during the recent movement restrictions occasioned by the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Nigeria, Jumia kept many MSMEs afloat by bridging the supply gap through partnership with international brands such as Reckitt Benckiser, Coca-Cola, Unilever, and Procter & Gamble. It also ensured fair pricing while it waived commissions on products thereby helping consumers to get essentials at the lowest prices delivered to them.

The outbreak of COVID-19 brought to the fore the indispensable role of e-commerce as consumers across Africa relied on its delivery system to access essential products. There was never a time in the history of Africa - until now - that e-commerce has become extremely relevant to the everyday lives of Africans. Jumia did not disappoint its consumers in this regard. The company launched swiftly into action by launching various initiatives that will provide consumers access to essentials, guarantee safety of the delivery agents and the consumers and ensure the safety of its frontline workers.

A few of the initiatives included Contactless Delivery, Contactless Payment via JumiaPay, partnerships with many brands with essential products, heroes funds for frontline workers, donated 100,000 CE certified facemasks to the Federal Ministry of Health, provided free advert slots to the same Ministry for sensitization campaigns, and many more. During the 3 months lockdown in Nigeria, Jumia saw orders skyrocket, proving that it has become more relevant to the lives of the Nigerian consumers.

Restaurants were mostly affected by the restriction in movement, as customers couldn’t dine in, thereby shrinking the revenue of many quick service restaurants and high profile intercontinental restaurants. Jumia Food’s partnership kept over hundreds of Quick Service Restaurants and diners ongoing while delivering through Jumia’s contactless delivery channel, healthy meals to millions of families and employees, who were observing stay-at-home order and keeping social distancing, thereby eliminating physical contact and reducing person-to-person transmission of COVID-19.

In the same vein, JumiaPay, which is the fintech product of Jumia, has been offering consumers safe, convenient and secure ways to pay for products on the platform, recharge airtime and pay utility bills from the comfort of their homes. Customers are finding it more convenient to do financial transactions seamlessly. The relevance of digital payment has become extremely important since the outbreak of COVID-19, as the virus can be transmitted via cash exchange.

The growth of Nigerian MSMEs has always been one of the most important commitments for Jumia. It’s yet again another anniversary for the company. It is not at all surprising that the theme of its anniversary this year is “Stronger Together” - a catchphrase that quickly underscores the symbiotic relationships among the various stakeholders of the company, while taking a retrospective look at how far they’ve come in building the engine of online commerce in Nigeria. It is indeed a fitting theme to underscore the unique relationship between Jumia and the sellers on the platform, between Jumia and millions of consumers in Nigeria, between Jumia and its over 5,000 employees in Africa, between Jumia and its host communities.

With forecast that e-Commerce sales will reach 17.5 percent of retail sales worldwide by 2021, and the evolving new normal, analysts believe that the potential of e-Commerce platforms like Jumia serving as the powerhouse of logistics value chain and fintech revolution in Nigeria, and indeed Africa, is limitless.

*Ezedi Udom, a Business Communications Expert writes from Lagos*

Jumia Nigeria has announced a new partnership with Africa’s foremost digital entertainment provider, IROKOTV to provide free IROKOTV subscription to Jumia Prime Members bundled with the 3-month, 6-month and 12-month Jumia Prime Membership plans.

In a similar development, as a way of upholding the tenets of its mission which is to provide the most value to African shoppers, Jumia has also teamed up with global fintech giant, Mastercard to offer a whooping 25% cashback exclusively to all Mastercard holders who purchase the 12-month Jumia Prime membership.

Launched in June 2019, Jumia Prime is a membership programme that gives access to a range of digital services and offers from Jumia. Designed for the frequent shoppers, Jumia Prime eliminates shipping fees, so members make savings everytime they place an order.

Additional benefits included within Jumia Prime Membership are: free shipping on Jumia Express items, free delivery on Jumia Food orders, an IrokoTV package, Boomplay Premium Unlimited Listening, and many others.

Jumia Nigeria CEO, Massimiliano Spalazzi said: “The free IrokoTV subscription we have just added to the set of incentives for Jumia Prime subscribers is another way of making shopping on our platform fun and exciting for new and existing customers, who can now enjoy limitless access to Nollywood films and TV Series available on the IrokoTV platform. We are particularly excited about this offer because while we partner with a Nigerian start-up, it also helps to provide free digital entertainment for Nigerians who are currently spending more time at home as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown.”

Jason Njoku, CEO of IrokoTV said: “Our partnership with Jumia gives us the opportunity to provide our exclusive Nollywood movies and series to Jumia Prime members. Members would also be able to download and watch from our libraries of Korean, Telenovelas, Bollywood, and Kiddies content. We believe this partnership would be the first of many other collaborations with Jumia across Africa.”

Jumia Prime subscription is currently available in Lagos, Abuja and Ibadan.

By Princewill Ekwujuru

As countries are continuously caught in-between the hard decision of easing lockdowns in bid to open up socio-economic activities and flattening the Coronavirus infection curve, the sad reality the world may live with for the rest of human existence is the disclosure that the pandemic may never be eradicated.

According to the World Health Organisation, trying to predict when the virus would disappear is a mirage even if a vaccine is found, WHO emergencies director, Dr Mike Ryan, warned at a virtual media briefing.

"It is important to put this on the table: this virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities, and this virus may never go away," he warned, stating that HIV/AIDS, measles and other diseases have not gone despite the development of more than 100 potent vaccines.

WHO epidemiologist, Maria van Kerkhove, spoke in like manner: "We need to get into the mindset that it is going to take some time to come out of this pandemic." In the past, the Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, had stated it was still possible to control the virus but with effort.

A group of Chinese viral and medical researchers further buttressed this fear, saying the Coronavirus will not be eradicated. With China still recording asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 every day despite bringing its epidemic under control, the disclosure by the scientists has added to the growing consensus around the world that the pathogen may return like SARS and other flu.

According to Jin Qi, director, Institute of Pathogen Biology at China’s top medical research institute, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, “This is very likely to be an epidemic that co-exists with humans for a long time, becomes seasonal and is sustained within human bodies.”

To discerning minds, the stark reality is that COVID-19 may have unwittingly become a permanent part of our daily lives. If this is the case, the wisdom that the global health body and experts have passed to African countries, in particular, is for government and the people to do everything possible to contain and control community transmission of the virus.

In Nigeria for instance, this advice appears too important to be ignored in view of our health facilities and frontline medical personnel are already over-stretched amidst the escalating rate of confirmed cases and fatalities daily. Two, the weight of the socio-economic cost of Coronavirus on our fragile national economy including the subnational economies and the general wellbeing of the majority of Nigerians are crushing.

There have also been reported massive job losses as a result of generally low productivity across key sectors including aviation, hospitality, manufacturing and the all-important agriculture. People’s purchasing power has also been adversely impacted. Experts including economists, investment and policy analysts have raised concerns that more negatives could result unless balanced actions are taken to contain the spread of the virus, which is a major threat to the economy.

Instructively, the paradox that we face is that the entire world is indeed in a battle against securing the future – the continued existence of humanity – from a ravaging pandemic that has become a global common enemy. And the picture of stark realities painted by WHO and experts is quite worrisome as Dr Tedros warned that there was no guaranteed way of easing restrictions without triggering a second wave of infections.

"Many countries would like to get out of the different measures, but our recommendation is still the alert at any country should be at the highest level possible," he stated. Dr Ryan even sounded it louder: "There is some magical thinking going on that lockdowns work perfectly and that unlocking lockdowns will go great. Both are fraught with dangers."

Be that as it may, the hard choice that we have to make is between the proverbial devil and the deep blue sea, and the obvious less risky option here is the commonsense adoption of physical and social distancing as a new normal. This is critical because contact with infected persons is the potent channel for transmission of the virus.

Also, the fact that asymptomatic carriers can spread the virus undetected makes it inevitable for government and businesses to discourage, and if possible, enforce stricter measures that ensure total elimination of physical and social distancing for everyone. But, this may not be feasible as likely breach of fundamental human rights could pose a hurdle.

As the government is set to freeze socio-economic activities and everyone in on the set-go for a blast again, the critical action that we must take is the adoption of a new culture by individuals (consumers of goods and services) and businesses (as producers). Underling, this action is our embrace of a new culture that promotes self-discipline and consciousness to discourage large gatherings in any form, and ultimately produce the expected positive outcome: flattening person-to-person transmission of COVID-19.


Essentially, brick and mortar shopping in places such as malls, supermarkets, open stalls and markets tops the list of platforms that encourage large gatherings of people with the potential to increase COVID-19 community transmission. The other is brick and mortar banking halls and other physical locations where people handle cash payment or transactions, which is also a common practice in our traditional open markets.

If the government is desirous of enforcing people’s compliance with the WHO-established protocol on physical and social distancing as well as motivating people to take personal responsibility that can reduce the spread of Coronavirus in the country, it is important that the people’s culture and business culture that requires physical contact must start giving way to more digitally innovative ways of doing things.

Part of the drastic measures being recommended to the government to reduce community transmission is to tame the monster from the source – curtailing person-to-person contact. This need again brings to the fore the role of e-Commerce and supply/logistics operators like Jumia and others to continue to be the key drivers of social distancing and business continuity for MSMEs as they did during the weeklong lockdowns.

Jumia, in particular, bolstered safe distancing through JumiaPay that enabled consumers to make online purchases, orders and payment for goods without any physical contact with anyone. Through Jumia contactless delivery, its agents and riders in personal protective equipment delivered those essentials such as groceries, water, toiletries and pharmaceuticals to people who were observing lockdowns in their homes under strict set safety protocol.

Jumia marketplace and logistics also effectively bridged the supply and logistics gap occasioned by movement restrictions and surge in demand for essentials during the lockdowns. The company provided an efficient distribution channel for brands and sellers at a time when offline channels were disrupted while helping consumers to keep safe and many MSMEs staying afloat.

It would be recalled that, during lockdowns and partial shutdowns across Nigeria, there was a significant shift in consumer behaviour from traditional retailing and payment to online transactions, thanks to e-Commerce operators like Jumia. Through Jumia innovative partnership with manufacturers of household essentials, a number of MSMEs also moved online. Significant adoption of e-payment transactions enabled by JumiaPay also buoyed the economy.

Jumia in its first-quarter 2020 financials underscored the potential of e-Commerce and logistics/supply operators to reflate the economy by reporting that e-payment/digital payment adoption opportunities can increase demand for brands, put essentials in the hands of more people while they are keeping safe and maintaining social distancing, and also help sellers to sell more and faster especially through Jumia digital omnichannel.

It disclosed further that more brands and sellers were eager to join the Jumia marketplace by Jumia cross-border. Strong demand from offline convenience retailers to join the Jumia on-demand platform and increasing advertisers’ interest for online channels were also reported as consumption shifted towards online.

“We believe the COVID-19 pandemic proves that e-Commerce has a key role to play in helping consumers safely access essential goods and providing an efficient distribution channel for brands and sellers, at a time when offline channels are disrupted. We are more than ever confident about the relevance of Jumia and the gradual adoption of e-Commerce by both consumers and sellers,” Jeremy Hodara and Sacha Poignonnec, Co-Chief Executive Officers of Jumia, said.

Retrospecting the 2003 SARS epidemic, the survival of e-Commerce giant Alibaba was initially threatened due to lack of understanding of the role of e-Commerce as a lifeline in any humanitarian crisis. But not perturbed, the company’s development team worked from its founder Jack Ma’s apartment and innovated a consumer-facing e-commerce platform, which boosted home delivery of essentials to millions of people amidst increased online demand for those quarantined at home. The Chinese government soon recognised Alibaba’s intervention as a watershed moment for the country.

All of these are proofs that, as we unlock the economy for full activities, the imperative of full adoption of technology is now more relevant in our fast-changing world. Digital transformation, of which e-Commerce operation is a major pillar, is now more fundamental. With the disruptions brought by Coronavirus, and giving the warnings by WHO and experts that the virus may never be eradicated, embracing a new reality and outlook on the future, though it might seem painful initially, is critical.

For us to consolidate the gains of measures taken so far to contain and case-manage COVID-19 infections, adoption of and adaptability to online marketplace by producers and service providers, increased online shopping experience and online payments culture are important behavioural changes and new realities that individuals and businesses must come to terms with. Doing so is our best less risky option to stem community transmission and mitigate the adverse socio-economic impact of this damaging virus.

X-Raying Jumia’s Road To Africa’s E-Commerce Dominance

No doubt, Jumia has become a household name in Nigeria and indeed Africa. But the e-commerce firm has in recent times come under unwholesome criticism, borne not out of failure to deliver services, but of envy and failure of others to mark up the market. In this analysis, DAVID AUDU takes a look at Nigeria’s e-commerce environment and Jumia’s doggedness to overcome teething problems and forging ahead toward better service delivery.

e-commerce business has grown to become big business in Nigeria and indeed Africa. With e-commerce projected to generate yearly sales of $75bn by 2025, according to McKenzie re­port, and with over 120 million Nigerians and above having easy access to the inter­net today have contributed to the growth of the market.

That is not to say the growth of e-com­merce does not come with its own chal­lenges. One of such is the threat of cyber­crime and fraud, which in the early stages deterred many people from venturing or­derings goods online.

Cybercrime expectedly, however, is an international issue that is not exclusive to Nigeria, but through a determined effort on providing security infrastructure by both the state, regulatory agencies, as well as companies, along with improved buyer protection policies, laws, and legislation, have ensured that cybercrime impact on e-commerce is minimised.

Other key challenges faced by e-com­merce companies in Nigeria center around the country’s infrastructure, and as the country strives for more transparent and effective public-private partnerships, a more secure and robust platform for e-commerce growth will emerge, ensur­ing Nigerian entrepreneurs are on an even playing field with countries like Japan, China, India, and the United States.

This is also helped by the fast growing youth populations, expanding consumer power, and increased smartphone pene­tration.

According to report, the current e-Com­merce spending in Nigeria is around $12 billion, and is projected to grow more.

Though Jumia, and perhaps, Konga following at the top of the market, there are more players in the Nigerian space. These include Wakanow, Payporte, Vcon­nect, Kara, Fashpa, and a host of others. Collectively, they have pushed the frontiers for Internet businesses in the country, get­ting over 500,000 online orders every 24 hours in Nigeria.

However, one of Africa’s e-commerce platforms, Jumia, before bracing the path to e-market business dominance, no doubt was well aware of the rough road ahead but remain unfazed.

At Jumia’s entry, in 2013, the internet penetrations then was abysmally very low; online payments trust among the people was also in doubt and smart mobile phone usage was just making scattering inroad into most African countries. Though, that was to experience dramatic boost and blos­soming in later years.

Today, Africa’s internet penetrations has improved tremendously, while smart phones penetrations, according to recent GSMA, an association of mobile network operators worldwide, is about 747 million SIM connections in sub-Saharan Africa, representing 75 percent of the population, thus, making online retail trade an easy venture.

That Jumia started operations in Nige­ria, Africa’s most populous Black Country, was no coincident. The company’s vision of a pan African operation with a global vision was kept in focus despite the turbu­lent economic and social circumstances that came afterwards.

Jumia boasts of supporting more than 80,000 local African companies who did business on its platform in 2018.

“We are taking the African economies online and enabling our sellers to reach and better serve more consumers”, it boast on it mission statement.

These include harnessing the power of technology to deliver innovative and convenient online goods and services to consumers, while opening up new oppor­tunities and horizons to African talents. “We are creating new jobs and developing new skills on the continent”.

Like most startup companies, the begin­ning of Jumia was not too different, but somewhat heightened by certain socio-eco­nomic and fiscal policies which influenced the pace of growth.

Compared to other startups in similar terrain, one would understand that devel­opment strategies and state policies, in­come level of the vast majority of the pop­ulation, with the aforementioned, internet penetration drawbacks, and all inherent factors players in this particular economic sector have to contend and surmount.

According to the company’s results released in November last year, Jumia’s revenue rose 19 per cent to 40 million Eu­ros, even though the period also recorded some losses for Jumia, which targets to be profitable by 2022.

For instance, while it took Amazon, which is regarded today’s as e-commerce reference point, almost a decade to make significant inroads into most of Ameri­ca’s retailers budget, Jumia didn’t struggle that long, before it became a household name.

Remember the famed defunct account­ing giant, Lehman brothers, of notorious memory, which once described Amazon, as “hemorrhaging cash and might not sur­vive”, noting further in its description of why Amazon might not survive, to say “it struggles with a weak balance sheet, poor working capital management, and massive negative operating cash flow, the financial characteristics that have driven innumer­able retailers to disaster throughout histo­ry”. That was Lehman Brothers’ analysis of Amazon, in June 2000.

Amazon was nine years old then, and seems not a profitable venture in the USA, a country regarded as the best market for e-commerce in the World. But the story today is different. As noted earlier, Ama­zon and the Chinese Alibaba are reference points of e-commerce business successes.

Coming back to Jumia, and with due re­gards to the growing consumer conscious­ness, who have in recent years embraced e-commerce, in spite of the continent’s economic adversity occasioned by poor leadership, corruption and mismanage­ment, have reeved up courage to withstand criticism and triumphing.

But, as they say, constructive criti­cism spurs growth. Why would you want somebody down for the sake of it? Well, the market place is breeding ground for envy and jealousy, especially, envy by those who crashed out of the system by nobody’s making.

As noted elsewhere, some people delight in seeing the negative side of Jumia for reasons not related to business. “They are cheering at the “neocolonizer” retreat­ing and having problems. That is to say in many cases it was disappointment to see people considered reasonable and es­tablished entrepreneurs and executives, engaged in spiteful social media rants about Jumia, where the only tangible thing that got disclosed in those rants, was their personally motivated disgrace towards Jumia. It was a kind of pleasures derived by someone from another person’s misfortune.

Today, looking at successful starts ups that have break even, there are only a handful of entities in Sub Saharan Afri­ca that did even remotely as much good for the ecosystem as Jumia. The recent IPO voyage itself validated the market and many fund managers got their invest­ments thanks to that.

Hundreds of Jumia employees went on to become founders and raised money from investors, thanks to Jumia in their CV; and thousands got a better position in a different companies, thanks to their e-commerce background in Jumia.

Hundreds of millions of dollars were pumped into offline marketing through local marketing agencies, printing shops, billboard owners, etc. Market education is the hardest to quantify but probably the most important argument among all of them.

In startups, it is said that the investors decide whether losses are still a “feature”, or already a “bug”. Problem is that, most retail investors don’t understand how high the operating costs are and how painfully slow the Jumia markets grow, according to market analysts.

But this means nothing if your invest­ment horizon is not long enough. It’s hon­estly not a fair deal to compare the markets between Amazon and Jumia.

One would have to look at the purchas­ing power, internet adoption, the preci­sion of addresses, online payments trust, merchants’ reliability, logistics services, currency fluctuation and end with having access to running water and 24/7 electric­ity in your office. In summary, the oper­ating environment for both companies is not the same.

Admittedly, there are so many challeng­es that need to be addressed for e-com­merce in Africa to become hot again and it’s very likely that no one has addressed those challenges yet. No one benefits from Jumia’s problems besides short-term-thinking short-sellers.

Jumia may have served as a punch bag to detractors, but what can’t be denied are its obvious open hands in setting the pace for others to follow.

Also, its contribution to local talent de­velopment and mentorship, as evidenced from those who have referenced it for their future aspirations; these can only be denied for the purpose of ego trip by detractors, which often, are been the bane of pioneer firms globally.

By Ayomide Oriade

Clearly, Nigeria has climbed the plateau of Coronavirus crisis with the daily upsurge in the confirmed cases and deaths. Nearly the entire 36 states and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are on the infected case chart.
COVID-19 contagion is also now at the community transmission stage. Instructively, this stage of the pandemic is the most dreaded phase because of the potential bigger humanitarian crises that may result if the rate of spread is not curtailed with speed.

In light of the above, drawing government attention to certain factors that can worsen the current pandemic statistics has become imperative. And, this is not about whistleblowing; it is about advocating good policies that can boost national success in the ongoing actions and measures to flatten the curve of COVID-19 transmission.

Policy One: Against the backdrop of the recent easing of lockdown in the FCT, Lagos and Ogun States, it is important for the government to note that Nigerians naturally would go back to their old lifestyle of socialisation. Increased movement of people should be expected. Banking halls will burst with customers. Cash transactions will spike and exchange of dirty currency notes, which can contribute to the person-to-person transmission of Coronavirus, should be expected.

In the coming days and weeks, the majority of daily income earners will return to brick and mortar stores, shops and open markets for their essential and non-essential purchases. Cash will be exchanged for purchases. The tradition of price trial and test-fitting of goods will come back in full force.

Asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 will come out to shop and touch a number of goods including groceries, fruits, vegetables, pepper, tomatoes and onions. Sadly, some other persons will buy and carry those infected items home. They and their loved ones will be infected, then the chain of person-to-person and community transmission continues.

While lack of education and knowledge of the virus coupled with zero voluntary testings for Coronavirus remains a major setback for stemming transmission among the low socio-economic cadre, the situation does not look anything better among the so-called elite.
Due to pride or fear of stigmatisation, many of them have refused to submit for voluntary testing. With the ease of lockdown, some of them that are infected will go to the malls, megastores and supermarkets, electronic or automobile showrooms. They will touch things on the shelves, and in the process increase community transmission of coronavirus.

With increased movement of people made possible by the easing of lockdown restrictions, the little gains on social distancing achieved during the period of lockdown would have been lost. In light of the above, the government must, as a matter of urgency, initiate or strengthen existing policy strategy that discourages people from using brick and mortar stores for both essential and non-essential purchases to prevent a further spike in the current high rate of COVID-19 transmission.

The most cost-effective way this can be achieved is for the government to encourage more Nigerians to use e-Commerce platforms for their purchases and transactions. For instance, pan-African leading e-Commerce operator Jumia has strong integrated technology and data-driven online channels and last-mile infrastructure that Nigerians can leverage for purchase of their essentials and non-essentials.

Jumia marketplace, logistics and e-payment platforms like JumiaPay enable customers to make orders online, pay online for goods and get their orders delivered to their offices or homes, as well as receive or transfer money. This way, they can avoid crowded places where the risk of COVID-19 infection is high, and ultimately continue to stay safe and maintain social distancing.

Policy Two: Against the backdrop of presidential restriction of interstate movements, the second important thing is for the government to ensure removal of all obstacles hindering the free and easy movement of goods especially agricultural and medical across borders. While the measure is commendable, it should be pointed out, however, that the enforcement of this policy is a major challenge for farmers, drivers and delivery agents working with e-Commerce companies.

From Ile Ife to Owena, Benin City to Ughelli, truck drivers and delivery agents on essential duties of transporting agricultural products to city centres such as Lagos and Abuja meet difficulties imposed by security agents enforcing the interstate restriction. Even within cities, last-mile delivery workers and those providing logistics and supply of essentials such as groceries, food items and products like electronics have it rough in the hands of security operatives. They are sometimes extorted, harassed, delayed or threatened with arrest if they fail to ‘cooperate.’

This ugly trend, if it is not checked fast by the government agencies, poses a major threat to meeting the critical logistics and supply of essentials such as agricultural produce at a peculiar time like this. It can also erode the gain of leveraging e-Commerce as the key driver of social distancing that has been proven to reduce the rate of transmission of coronavirus. It could also, in the long-term, rob Nigeria of the benefits of optimising the potential of e-commerce as a key driver of the digital economy, which is paramount to the Federal Government’s economic diversification policy.

On a final note, any act that could cause people to return to brick and mortar malls or stores would certainly erode the sacrifice of our frontline heroes and essential service providers such as doctors, nurses and other first responders, who are in the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

As essential services providers and humanitarian workers, the daily commute of last-mile and logistics workers should be stress-free at this crucial time, and indeed, at other times. It is imperative, therefore, for the government to ensure adequate safety and protection of all workers in the logistics and last-mile value chain including drivers, delivery agents and riders working with e-Commerce operators such as Jumia and others.

With community transmission of COVID-19 escalating, unhindered access of Nigerians to the services of essential services providers like e-Commerce operators is more compelling as online shopping holds the ace to discourage human movement and bolster social distancing.

Leading eCommerce platform Jumia donated 100,000 CE certified face masks to the Federal Ministry of Health to support the government in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The donations were received by the Director, Hospital Services, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Adebimpe Adebiyi on behalf of the Honourable Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.

Jumia has also offered the support of its integrated logistics network to support the distribution of essential products, medical equipment and Personal Protective Equipment.

Juliet Anammah, Chairwoman, Jumia Nigeria and Group Head, Institutional Affairs at Jumia Africa said: “We are proud to make this contribution partner with the Nigerian government in fighting against COVID-19 and supporting our communities. E-commerce platforms like ours, with e-payment and last mile delivery capabilities, are uniquely positioned to be part of Nigeria’s response strategy to this pandemic and we are swiftly taking actions.”

In a letter of acknowledgement and appreciation to Jumia Nigeria, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Alhaji Mashi Abdullahi - on behalf of the Honourable Minister of Health wrote: “The Federal Ministry of Health heartily appreciates your kind gesture in the fight against the pandemic. The support which include the donation of 100,000 pieces of CE rated masks, provision of delivery and logistics network and other support services towards the response will indeed go a long way to compliment the ongoing efforts of containment and control of the spread of the pandemic.”

He continued: “I also wish to assure you that the ministry will not hesitate to further solicit your services in any area of need in this regard. Please accept the assurances of our esteemed regards.”

Coronavirus pandemic has taken the world by storm. Since the outbreak in Wuhan China in December 2019, over two million cases have been recorded, with over 130,000 lives lost.


Governments across the globe have enforced lockdown measures to flatten the curve of COVID-19. New normal has emerged: online shopping is now the safest channel for buying, selling and distribution of essential and hygiene products necessary for daily survival.


In Africa where access to eCommerce is still relatively low, Jumia has introduced some initiatives and strategic partnerships to keep life going for people and drive safety measures. We examine seven of such initiatives here:


Price slash & free delivery on hygiene products: Under its 'Stay Safe' Campaign, Jumia entered a partnership with Reckitt Benckiser and Procter & Gamble (P&G) to enable customers to have access to hygiene products on its platform for Nigerians during the COVID-19 lockdown. One of the key elements of the partnership is that Jumia is taking 0% commission on essential products from Reckitt Benckiser, and there is free delivery on select SKUs from P&G. Jumia also sealed a partnership deal with global beverage manufacturer, Coca-Cola to provide access for consumers to shop for their essentials and enjoy price discounts on selected products.

Contactless Delivery and Cashless Payment: To align with global best practice, Jumia came up with social distancing measures, including contactless delivery for prepaid packages on the platform that enable consumers to make prepaid payments for products online via JumiaPay and get them delivered without a direct body contact or cash exchange with the delivery agent.

Support for the health system in Africa: Jumia offered African governments to use its last-mile delivery network for the distribution of supplies to healthcare facilities and workers. In addition to offering its logistics and supply-chain network, Jumia is collaborating with health ministries in several countries to use its website and mobile platforms to share COVID-19 related public service messages.

Donation of Health Kits: As part of its contributions to the safety of health workers at the forefront of COVID-19 battle, Jumia donated certified face masks to health ministries in Kenya, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Nigeria, Uganda and others.

Hygiene sensitization: In partnership with Lagos State Government, Jumia Nigeria launched #MyHandsAreSafe Challenge to help Nigerians learn and imbibe thorough and regular hand washing habits which is a very potent tool in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic

25% cut off co-founders salary: The two co-CEOs and co-founders of the company, Jeremy Hodara and Sacha Poignonnec, voluntarily accepted a 25% salary cut to support the company during the COVID-19 crisis.

Intervention Fund for #JumiaHeroes: Jumia established a voluntary fund for the frontline staff carrying out essential duties every day in its offices, warehouses, delivery hubs during the COVID-19 crisis and also those who may be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds are made up of voluntary and confidential donations from its employees.

One of the major fallouts of the COVID-19 pandemic is the massive restriction of human and vehicular movements in the most affected countries of the world. Governments, in their bid to curtail the spread of the disease, have enacted various laws that affect, not only movements, but also most economic activities in their areas of jurisdiction, leading to what is now ubiquitously referred to as lockdown.

In Lagos, for instance, when the governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, initially announced a series of restriction including the closure of markets and stores around the state, at the escalation of the number of confirmed cases of the disease in the state, people got into a frenzy and besieged the markets and supermarkets to stock up their houses with products they think would be needed over the period the order was to subsist. The governor’s order that exempted those shops and markets that sell food stuff, medicines, water and other essential commodities, did not deter the impulsive buyers. This led to various outcomes including increase in prices of items, hoarding and scarcity of food items. Then came the president’s address that not only buttressed the governor’s order, but even expanded both the restrictions and enforcement.

The concept of lockdown and the experiences of other countries who had earlier implemented such measures made Nigerians very apprehensive of the state of affairs in the period the order would be in effect in Nigeria. How would they buy their personal and household needs — food, water, medicines, petroleum products and other essential commodities during the period of the lockdown? How would people in the country, especially day-pay earners and small-scale business owners survive during this period?

Being at home could be very boring and challenging for the average Lagosian whose lives have always been mobile — various sceneries, meeting various people, various menus from assorted caterers etc and the excitement such variety brought. For more than one week, we have been subjected to one scene — the home, food from one caterer — the wife. Most of us are adopting many suggestions on how to cope with the new realities that come with the lockdown, daily indoor exercises etc.

Recently, I stumbled on one reality. Looking out from my window, I noticed a heavy presence of delivery men on the roads as they moved around the town delivering people’s orders — food, medicines, water and other essential goods. I quickly did some google search and found out that most of the e-commerce operators are very much in operation and that I could order for my needs and have them delivered to my house even in this period of lockdown.

I found out that Jumia Nigeria, for example, is not only in full operation but has even expanded its scope of operations in order to satisfy its customers during the period of the lockdown. Jumia’s customers can log on to its platform and do all the shopping they need, including food, medicines, water and other essential goods, pay for them and have them delivered to their doorsteps using a contactless approach, all in the comfort of their homes.

I called on other members of my family and we logged on to the Jumia food App and placed orders for our individual favourites away from the home cook which was becoming boring — main dishes and desserts and made the payment online. About one hour later, I heard a knock on my gate and it was a box containing our orders and the delivery man, standing about three meters away.
The delivery man explained that the distance is in compliance with the social distancing rule by the National Centre for Diseases Control (NCDC). From the way my family members relished their meals that day it was obvious everyone was tired of the home dishes that we all used to look forward to. Variety is the spice of life, they say.

The experience also exposed me to another reality — how Jumia and, maybe, other e-commerce platforms, are assisting owners of micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) stay afloat in this period of the lockdown — running their businesses and providing for their families by doing so. And another reality, how the operations of the online platforms provide sustenance to the citizens doing daily paid jobs. Most of the delivery men are paid daily and would have lost out on providing for themselves and their families, were it not for the operations of Jumia and its likes.
In conclusion, the operations of the online trading companies and their logistics partners are one of the major reasons Nigerians are not feeling the negative impacts of the lockdown like their contemporaries from most other countries of the world. It would be a reason some MSMEs may not record much losses as a result of the lockdown.

Amidst the evolving strategies and initiatives to halt the spread of coronavirus pandemic around the globe, shifting consumer behaviour to online trade channels and digital platforms can provide the needed incentive to keep people safe and by extension promote the growth of Nigeria’s e-commerce industry.

Keeping safe and staying alive is everyone’s most cherished watchword at this time. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in many of the countries including Nigeria is not abating despite concerted steps by governments, private sector players, multilateral organisations and other stakeholders to halt the rate of transmission.

In the face of the escalation of the pandemic, the Nigerian government and 36 state governments are strengthening enforcement and compliance of residents with the stay-at-home order aimed to check the movement of people.

By implication, Nigerians will stay at home for longer days, weeks or even months. Disruption in the logistics and supply chain that has already affected the availability of basic essential goods will also be disrupted further. The likelihood of a shortage of foods, water, toiletries, drugs, and other essential items may result in days to come, as existing products in the warehouses and those on the shelves at the supermarkets and malls may run out.

As farmers are unable to go to farms and producers unable to produce more products or push out inventories in the warehouses, zero productivity and deserted open market stalls would further impact negatively on the already weak national economy.

As the ongoing multi-stakeholder actions redouble to end COVID-19, it is salutary to mention the important role that logistics service operators have been playing in helping to keep people safe at home since the commencement of the presidential 14-day lockdown in Lagos and Ogun States and Abuja, on March 29, which has seen a further 2 weeks extension till the end of April.

Jumia has been at the forefront of e-Commerce operators in Nigeria that has implemented a deliberate strategy to promote the safety of Nigerians in the midst of COVID-19.

Aligned with its recent COVID-19 inspired campaign theme, ‘Stay Safe with Jumia. Shop from home and have it delivered contact-free!’, Jumia promotes ‘cashless’ payments and ‘contactless’ delivery of prepaid packages to curb COVID-19 in Africa. The ingenuity entails taking measures that keep customers, delivery agents and partners safe by leveraging on JumiaPay payment platform that enables consumers to make prepaid payments for products online and get them delivered without a direct body contact or cash exchange with the delivery agents.

Recently, Jumia has announced partnerships with brands like Reckitt Benckiser, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola to enable customers to have access to essential hygiene products at affordable prices during the lockdown.

According to Massimiliano Spalazzi, CEO of Jumia Nigeria, the company’s well-trained delivery agents enforce necessary standards during delivery of products purchased and paid for online, to the customers at home. They are instructed to call or text on arrival at the customer’s place and drop off the package at their doorstep, then step back to the safe distance limit and wait for the customer to take the package before leaving.

“The health and safety of our customers and delivery agents are our absolute priority. We are uniquely positioned to step up and be part of Africa’s response strategy in this challenging time. We have implemented a “contactless” delivery option, which eliminates any possibility of physical contact. Convenience, social distancing and cashless measures are woven into one solution to combat the current situation,” Spalazzi stated.

Other logistics firms like Konga, Jiji are encouraged to adopt Jumia’s contactless delivery model so the country can reduce person-to-person transmission of coronavirus while at the same time help to meet the surge in demand for essential goods and services already triggered by lockdown in most parts of Nigeria.

It is worthy of commendation to also note that through Jumia Logistics, the leading e-Commerce company has been enabling micro, small and medium businesses to stay afloat amidst the pandemic while at the same time ensuring people get their essential needs delivered to them in the comfort of their homes and keep safe.

Even ahead of the outbreak of coronavirus in Nigeria, Jumia had responded to the challenges within the Nigeria logistics ecosystem by developing the appropriate technology and data-driven model. It did this by opening up its logistics and marketing services to third parties and partners including Gokada and restaurant, kitchen, ticketing and airline service providers.

Through its vast data-driven logistics and huge online marketplace, Jumia facilitates one big virtual meeting place for MSMEs, retailers and buyers to provide end-to-end contactless supply and demand chain.

Commenting on the Jumia Logistics, Country Manager for Jumia Services, Tolulope Geroge-Yanwah, said Jumia leverages major pillars to scale its third-party logistics service, and these include unparalleled physical and network infrastructure; and its people.

Others are its proprietary technology tools powering the entire network; its scale and its omnipresence – 25% of deliveries in 2019 was in rural areas, 50% in urban cities, and 25% in small cities.

Also, Jumia Nigeria through its point-to-point line hauls services has an established network that can handle bulk movements in key markets across different product categories. It also backstops for third parties by providing highly skilled and trained manpower in tackling logistics challenges.

A shift to the online trade channels can indeed, provide Nigerians with the needed incentive to keep safe and by extension promote the growth of Nigeria’s e-commerce industry in the midst of the increasing rate of coronavirus transmission.

Jumia beyond any reasonable doubt has proven to be the number one e-Commerce and logistics enabler and safest way to shop as the COVID-19 scourge rages. Its unwavering commitment to investment and innovation has also endeared it as the number one preferred online platform of choice that has played and continues to play critical roles in our socio-economic life as individuals, households, firms and government and the future.

These and many more are reasons the government should accord e-Commerce operators their right place, as done in other developed countries where e-Commerce platforms serve as the critical logistics and supply backbone during emergency situations including the time of lockdown.

In the wake of the rising spread of coronavirus, countries such as China, U.S., UK, Spain, Italy and others relied on e-Commerce channels for the logistics and supply of food, water, drugs, toiletries and essential needs to the people during lockdowns. In the U.S., e-commerce giant Amazon even implemented fresh employment of over 100,000 Americans as a result of increased orders for supplies occasioned by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The advent of the novel coronavirus disease, also known as COVID-19, into the country seems to have destabilized our social norms and behaviour. Nigeria, like all other countries of the world where this pandemic has visited, has responded by both treating the people who have contracted the disease and putting some preventive measures in place to minimize the rate to which her citizens get infected.

Some of the measures the government has put in place to forestall transmission of the virus include the restriction on movement, closure of schools, ordering some cadres of the employees to stay home for some time, closure of markets and enacting laws limiting the number of people permitted at social gatherings, religious worships, markets, etc. to a specific number at a go among others.

While no measure taken to forestall the transmission of this pandemic could be said to be excessive, some of these rules, especially that of market closure, would pose the greatest difficulty to the Nigerian people, given our physical shopping culture, where one must personally go to the market, select and pay for his or her goods and take them home by themselves. This shopping culture has served us well in the past, albeit it cost us a little more, both financially and physically.

Given the prevailing circumstances, occasioned by the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this shopping culture is no longer tenable, or at least cumbersome and needs to be changed if one would meet his or her recurrent shopping needs. This is the time for Nigerians to switch fully to the e-commerce platform and become online shoppers.

Let us take the experience of Lagosians, for example. When the state governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, announced the closure of the markets on Tuesday, 24 March 2020, residents of the state immediately besieged the various markets and supermarkets in the state to stock up their homes with their prospective needs to beat the deadline that was slated for Thursday. The traders were overwhelmed by this upsurge in patronage that some even restricted the number of customers they allowed into their shops at a time in order to have full control of their sales.

On Wednesday, despite the fact that the governor exempted the markets and stores that sell food, medicines, water, and other essential commodities from the ban - which again was for seven days - most of the racks, especially in the food/groceries section became virtually empty as people, in panic-buying, have bought almost the products they thought they could need, even beyond the period the closure is supposed to subsist, thereby creating artificial scarcity and causing price increases for most of these food items.

While panic buying, with its attendant consequences of scarcity and price increases, is a natural fallout of such restrictions as was seen in some other countries that have experienced or are experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic, it is quite unnecessary, especially in Nigeria, where the restrictions do not affect traders of food items and all other necessary products. It is further unnecessary, given the presence of the various e-commerce platforms that people could log on to and purchase all their needs in Nigeria. Shoppers could do their purchases – from food/groceries, medications, water, and other essential needs to even personal electronics and gadgets – and have them delivered to their doorsteps even without going to the physical stores.

What is more is that these deliveries are done in absolute compliance with the social distance requirements, as prescribed by the federal government and the National Centre for Diseases Control (NCDC). Jumia Nigeria, in its bid to further curtail the transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic, has begun what it calls contactless deliveries to its customers. In contactless deliveries, the delivery men drop customers’ orders at their doorsteps, move three meters back and call the customers to come and pick up their orders.

The advantages of switching over to the online platforms for shopping now, and the folly of physical shopping, are that online shopping is more convenient, cheaper and has the products more readily available at all points in time than in physical shopping. Above all, with Jumia’s contactless delivery, online shopping has become more COVID-19 compliant than traditional shopping.

Since the year 2012 that e-commerce platforms debuted and remained in business in Nigeria, there has been a reluctance on our part to change our shopping culture to the modern online platforms due to our attachment to the old ways. This is in spite of the increased number of merchants and goods and services available on these platforms, the increased ease, convenience and safety that come with the platforms, as well as the various incentives like price slashes, sales promotions, free deliveries, etc. offered by the e-commerce platforms.

With the presence of the coronavirus disease in Nigeria and the announced restrictions that are in place as a response to the pandemic, this seems to be the best time for Nigerians to switch over to the e-commerce platforms for a COVID-19-compliant lifestyle as well as enjoy safer and better shopping experience.

Africa’s leading e-commerce platform, Jumia, has partnered with one of the world's largest producers of consumer goods, Procter & Gamble, to make essential hygiene products accessible and available on its platform to Nigerians during the COVID-19 lockdown.

With the partnership, customers on Jumia platform will be able to make orders from a range of P&G products and get them delivered at their doorsteps via contactless delivery service.

Announcing the partnership, Massimiliano Spalazzi, CEO of Jumia Nigeria, said both companies are committed to seeking ways to soften the unpleasant effects of the movement restriction imposed by the government to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 in the country.

“We are proud to partner with Procter & Gamble as part of our commitment to provide customers access to essential hygiene and sanitary products during this challenging time. This partnership is in line with our “Stay Safe” campaign. We strive to continue operating so that customers continue to stay at home, use e-commerce to shop, and stay safe during the lockdown." he said.

Speaking on the brand’s commitment to helping provide essential services in a safe way during the lockdown, Procter & Gamble’s Managing Director in Nigeria, Mr Adil Farhat said: "We are proud to join Jumia in this initiative to supply essentials to consumers in Nigeria. Safeguard, Oral B, Ariel, Always, Pampers & Gillette will now be available for safe delivery across the entire country”

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, Jumia has been an important online channel for Nigerians to access the essentials needed for daily upkeep. The company recently announced a partnership with Reckitt Benckiser to enable customers to have access to hygiene products at affordable prices during the lockdown. Jumia also implemented contactless delivery for prepaid packages on the platform that enable consumers to make prepaid payments for products online and get them delivered without a direct body contact or cash exchange with the delivery agent.

By Emmanuel Nwachukwu


The outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected virtually every facet of human endeavour in every part of our planet. Sporting events are being postponed or outrightly canceled, schools are being shut down, social gatherings outlawed, stock markets are crashing, Civil Service winding up gradually, countries are virtually shutting down by halting public, economic activities, some are in total lockdown, all in coordinated efforts to contain the pandemic. Recently, a WHO conference on COVID-19 was canceled because of COVID-19. Simply put, human contact is now dangerous and consciously discouraged as a precautionary measure to curtail the spread of the virus.



Though Nigeria has recorded very low fatality(1) as a result of the virus, thanks to the collaborated effort of the health ministry and government agencies, Nigerians have been advised not to be complacent. The country now has about 40 confirmed cases of infection. At a time like this, avoiding places that expose you to avoidable human contact such as open market, malls, banks, restaurants or canteens popularly called ‘Buka’ and even ATM spots, is top of the safety advisory list. Alternatives to carrying out these day to day activities without human contact are highly sought after.


Few days ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that grocery stores cannot meet the demands of people and more importantly worry about the health risk that now comes with shopping in brick and mortar stores. The good news is that online marketplace now exists for most of these services in Nigeria. For those yet to embrace e-commerce innovations, these are times to consider the option. Platforms like Jumia, Jiji, Konga, and the rest provide veritable options to visit a brick and mortar store or mall. Interestingly, these platforms are expanding beyond just online stores to online malls. It would be recalled that Jumia launched its online mall which provides a direct transaction with grocery, electronics brands and the likes. Employees working at the Jumia warehouse have now been trained on the necessary safety precautions that will assure their safety and that of the packages being delivered to the customers. For instance, the country manager for Jumia Services, Tolulope George-Yanwah said all the employees are now enforced to wear face masks and gloves while handling customers' packages. She added that there’s also the 1 metre safety distance between all employees at the company’s warehouse.


With services of several payment gateways like JumiaPay, EcobankPay, Paystark, Flutterwave, Opay, shopping can be done and easily paid for in the comfort of your home.
These e-platforms also remove the risk of contracting the virus via physical cash exchange. Beyond payment for goods, these platforms are also efficient for the transfer of funds, limits contact with cash and risk of contracting COVID-19.


Reports have it that East Africa’s leading market, Kenya, has already turned to the region’s leading mobile money product, M-Pesa, to reduce physical exchange of currency and curtail the spread of COVID-19. In the United States of America, CNN Business reports that online gaints Amazon is adding 100,000 new full-time and part-time employees across the United States to keep up with the demand.


All precautionary measures are tied to staying alive, and food is essential to doing just that. With your Smartphone and data, from the comfort of wherever you are, you can order whatever food you desire and it would be delivered to you. Jumia Food is a readily available ecommerce option for such purpose.


This is also the period to optimize the convenience offered by online grocery stores in the country. E-commerce players such as Jumia and others are alternatives available for use without breaking a sweat at the market. Another good part of online shopping, be it for groceries or other products, is that it saves you money by guarding against impulse buying associated with visiting stores and malls.


However, while receiving your orders at the comfort of your home, or office as the case may be, it is advisable to wear protective hand gloves as a protective measure against any infectious contact that may have come to the pack in the process of packaging or transportation. Jumia is a good example in this regard.



A practical step in this direction is the partnership between Jumia, the leading e-commerce platform and Reckitt Benckiser, the global health products manufacturer to help consumers access hygienic products at the lowest price.


The partnership is said to provide a steady supply of hygiene products such as soap bars, disinfectants, and liquid hand wash at affordable pricing. The products, which are facing a growing demand from consumers taking hygiene precautions to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus.


The most interesting part of the initiative is that Jumia will be taking 0% commission on Dettol, JIK and Harpic, and will reinvest the initial commission into discounts on the consumer price while Reckitt Benckiser is financing free shipping nationwide on all listed products.

Jumia Nigeria has announced a price slash offer for customers in its upcoming Tech Week campaign which is scheduled to run from March 23rd to the 29th. The campaign will run in parallel with its Stay Safe campaign aimed at providing consumers access to hygiene products, groceries, utility bills and all relevant fast-moving consumer goods during this critical time when most Nigerians might experience restrictions in movement as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to Jumia Nigeria CEO, Massimiliano Spalazzi, there are over 6 million home essential products and groceries that Nigerians can choose from.

Similarly, Tech Week gives customers the opportunity to buy tech-related items at the most affordable prices irrespective of social status, earnings or budget by offering massive discount deals.

To take advantage of this amazing opportunity, customers are expected to download the Jumia App from the android or iOS stores and follow the Jumia social media handles for purchase of tech products such as phones, computing televisions, games and consoles, cameras and other accessories.

Speaking on the campaign themed “Upgrade Your Life”, Spalazzi said the Tech Week offer is an immense upgrade of the mobile week which offers customers discounts on mobile phones. He explained that during Tech Week, customers can get deals on over 10,000 gadget products in partnership with global brands like Samsung, Intel, HP, Microsoft, Nexus and Scanfrost.

“The Tech Week offer is in response to our customers who yearn for such opportunities beyond just mobile phones. Tech Week is a seven days window for shoppers on Jumia platform to save money by getting value for less on global gadget brands of their choice. This campaign caters for everyone with gadget needs; gamers who need the latest video game, a student who needs a laptop, phone enthusiast, homemaker into appliances, or a sports lover who wants that large screen TV can get deals during the Tech Week. To access the deals, all you need to do is download the Jumia App, register and get down to shopping,” he said.

He added that during the Tech Week, Jumia will also be running Flash Sales on its app only daily by 2pm, during which customers can enjoy up to 50% off deals. Other prize winning avenues include: Daily Live Giveaways, Solve & Win and Spin & Win scheduled for 12pm daily.

Afro-pop star Oritsefemi may be heading towards a show down with his landlord as he has been threatened with eviction over his unpaid house rent.

Sources close to the singer told PM Express that the landlord has threatened to throw out Oritsefemi from his property after he allegedly failed to pay the rent for his apartment off admiralty way, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos which expired some months ago.

Read more...
http://www.airwavesreport.com/index.php/entertainment/item/494-oritsefemi-faces-eviction-from-lekki-home-over-unpaid-rent

Afro-pop star Oritsefemi may be heading towards a show down with his landlord as he has been threatened with eviction over his unpaid house rent.

Sources close to the singer told PM Express that the landlord has threatened to throw out Oritsefemi from his property after he allegedly failed to pay the rent for his apartment off admiralty way, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos which expired some months ago.

http://www.airwavesreport.com/index.php/entertainment/item/494-oritsefemi-faces-eviction-from-lekki-home-over-unpaid-rent

If you say Senator Dino Melaiye is controversy personified, you are not far from the truth. The Kogi-born senator of the federal republic courts troubles effortlessly. If he is not having issues with his women, he firing tirades at party members or leading protest against one form of injustice or the other.

But he seems to have bitten more than he can chew in his latest public fiasco. Perhaps, smarting from British Prime Minister, David Cameron’s derogatory remark about the high level of corruption in Nigeria, the upwardly mobile politician had taken to twitter to deride Cameron for firing such a salvo at Nigeria.

http://www.airwavesreport.com/index.php/society/item/478-is-melaye-poster-boy-of-corruption

Ecobank must stand for good corporate governance. Definitely, the bank is bigger than Ekiti and should not succumb to blackmail of any type

modath:
You must think you are clever putting pictures of the road to help Fayose's PR!

Fayose levied (not normal corporate tax) all banks and big biz in Ekiti to fund proposed projects but Ecobank (International bank) wasn't playing ball, anything outside taxes, no bueno.....

They probably aren't even making enough in ekiti to warrant paying big for Fayose's PR bills.


That road rehab wasn't allocation or IGR, banks and other biz were forced to donate, very soon, some others will take the ecobank route.

Ekiti kete already know dem buy market but a combination of shame and Fayose's community thugs dare not let them speak out, someone calling another a dictator when he is a combo of Stalin, Pot and Hitler in one body!!

@nkpommpko, a colleague, Mallam Haruna Ibrahim told me at noon that the branch had network issue, but when i got to the same branch, located @ Idris Ibrahim Crescent, Jabi, Abuja, i did my transaction smoothly, and the receiver, Suleimon in kano, received it in no time...though it was around 2pm. So, i guess they have rectified the network issue now.

it maybe mobile network issue that delayed your transaction...instead of waiting, just call the Ombudsman center 01-2260450 for quick assistance

Rick001:
You should go and confirm your balance at the ATM. If the money is still not reflecting, you should call their contact centre on 07005000000, or email them at engcontactcentre@ecobank.com.

https://www.nairaland.com/2912580/ecobank-hands-over-3-fraudulent

many individual are corrupted and it seriously affecting our society, because reading through the stories, it is clear that fraud and malpractices will continue to plague the Nigerian banking sector. only a few banks will continue to work hard to expose the thieves in-house. Ecobank should continue to purge itself of such fraudulent staff.

https://www.nairaland.com/2912580/ecobank-hands-over-3-fraudulent

reading through the stories, it is clear that fraud and malpractices will continue to plague the Nigerian banking sector. only a few banks will continue to work hard to expose the thieves in-house. Ecobank should continue to purge itself of such fraudulent staff.

A Port Harcourt-based legal practitioner, Anthony Ezewoko, has said he will approach the Court of Appeal to challenge the ruling of a Rivers State High Court, which dismissed his application stopping the bank from going ahead with the renovation of its property in Port Harcourt.
Ezewoko is in the High Court, presided over by the Acting Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Iyayi-Laminkara to challenge the decision of Heritage Bank Limited to forcefully evict him from its property in Port Harcourt, even when his one-year rent is yet to expire.
Iyayi-Laminkara had in her ruling on Wednesday in Port Harcourt dismissed the application to stop the bank from going ahead with the renovation exercise and advice both parties to find a way to settle out of Court. ..
http://airwavesreport.com/index.php/business/item/281-lawyer-drags-heritage-bank-to-appeal-court-over-forceful-ejection