Jumia ends ecommerce operation in Cameroon

November 25, 2019: Often called the ‘Amazon of Africa’, Jumia Technologies, has suspended its ecommerce platform in Cameroon stating that it was ‘not suitable’ for the country. 

Founded in 2012 by Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara – former McKinsey consultants, the platform operates in 14 countries making it the leading e-commerce firm in the continent.

Reuters has quoted the New York Stock Exchange-listed (NYSE) company as saying that it would continue supporting buyers and vendors in Cameroon using its classified portal Jumia Deals.

The growth in Cameroon has been hit by a two-year separatist uprising in its Anglophone North-west and South-west regions, which began in 2017. The war has resulted in the death of more than 3,000 people and has forced half a million to flee their country. 

“We came to the conclusion that our transactional portal as it is run today is not suitable to the current context in Cameroon,” Jumia said in a statement.

The International Monetary Fund said recently that economic growth in oil-producing Cameroon was likely to slow to 3.9 percent this year from 4.1 percent in 2018 due to a subdued performance by the country’s non-energy sector.

In October, US president Donald Trump said he would end Cameroon’s preferential trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) from January because the government had not dealt with abuses by the security forces.