Jumia’s food delivery service will shut down operations in Nigeria by the end of 2023.
The company, which announced this in a statement, said its current priorities are the Jumia Pay platform and its primary physical goods business, which it operates in Nigeria and ten other countries.
It also said it will shut food delivery service in Kenya, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Uganda, and Algeria.
Speaking about the exit, Jumia CEO, Mr. Francis Dufay, stated that in order to increase profitability, the company’s physical goods division will now receive more attention.
“The more we concentrate on our physical goods sector, the more we see Jumia has enormous growth potential and a clear route to profitability.
“We have to focus on our physical goods business, the more we realize that there is huge potential for Jumia to grow, with a path to profitability.”
Jumia Food has agreed to decrease its workforce as a result of the change, with some staff moving to the company’s core physical goods division.
With prices skyrocketing, business conditions in Nigeria have become extremely difficult. Jumia Food faces competition from companies in the food industry, such as Glovo and Chowdeck.
According to Q3, the total amount of food sold on Jumia Food between January and September 2023 was $64 million (or 11% of $581 million). This shows that Jumia Food has had difficulty turning a profit since its inception.
This comes months after Bolt Food, a big participant in the African food delivery industry, declared that it will be leaving South Africa and Nigeria in December 2023.
Bolt Food had expanded multiple times already this year.
