How has Jumia performed in the African market?

Jun 10, 2022|Jonathan Ntege Lubwama

I joined the Stears Newsroom on 11th April 2022, and one of my highlights has been the daily briefing session every morning where we have spirited debates. We recently discussed Jumia, and I took a bullish stance on Jumia because of its investments to reap the long-term potential of e-commerce in Africa. I tried to convince my fellow analysts to buy and hold the stock, but only three out of ten budged.

I concluded that most of my peers had no plans of buying mansions on Banana Island, at least not from the proceeds of Jumia stock in the long term.

Key takeaways

In 2016, Jumia became Africa's first unicorn and was the first Africa-focused startup to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) three years later. But the earlier optimism toward Africa's e-commerce giant has waned.
Jumia has never had a profitable quarter and has yet to show a clear path to profitability, contributing to its stock tanking almost 50% of its IPO price.
But Jumia is building in a tough market, where profits must be foregone in favour of growth. The growth involves building costly infrastructure that will enable e-commerce to thrive, reaping the long-term potential of African e-commerce.

Today's article will focus on Africa's first unicorn and the only Africa-focused startup listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). At the end of the article, you should be able to decide if you want to be bullish or bearish on Jumia. (Disclaimer: this article is not financial advice). But before we begin that discussion, what does it mean to be bullish or bearish on a company.

First, some important definitions. If you are bullish on a company, then