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Jumia’s Seed and Growth of Today’s Entrepreneurs

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By Ayomide Oriade

Decades after the internet and its accompanying digital offerings redefined world information dissemination, business operation and transaction model, the comfort and ease of online shopping was on the exclusive list of Nigerians who have the privilege of visiting clime where Amazon, Ebay and the likes run their services. To other Nigerians, it was a figment of imagination.

Africa was a huge market up for the taking, but venturing into an uncharted territory always comes with severe threats and jeopardy.

So when Jumia came with the idea of replicating the online shopping experience on the continent of Africa in 2012, many saw it as a wild goose chase. Who dares run ecommerce services on a continent with less than 5% internet penetration? Jumia has since proven to be the answer.

Nine years on, the seed planted by Jumia has since given rise to a league of sophisticated African digital consumers, as well as a league of digital market entrepreneurs.

Since the launching of the online shopping experience, e-commerce is increasingly disrupting the retail industry in Sub-Saharan Africa. Konga, Payporte, Jiji, Kusnap and several other players, have since invested in the sector and are treating customers to e-tailing experience.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reported that the number of online shoppers in Africa surged annually by 18% since 2014.

The pillars needed for e-commerce are also beginning to fall in place. The International Telecommunication Union statistics revealed that the share of the population using the Internet increased from 2.1% in 2005 to 24.4% in 2018.

The ripple impact of this on SMEs has been enormous. Today, thousands of businesses thrive on online exposure and sales. In its nine years in Nigeria, Jumia being at the forefront of the market, has connected over 11,000 SMEs and brands to millions of consumers in Nigeria.

The company’s sales campaigns have become a major window for brands and sellers to reach wider audiences and experience record sales figures. For instance, Black Friday powered by e-commerce brands in Nigeria has a track record of being an assembly of brands and products.

In 2018, there were more than 10,000 small businesses on the Jumia platform for Black Friday. In 2019 this figure increased to more than 12,000 with over 10 million products on sale. More than 41,500 sellers participated in the 2020 edition and there were also commensurate figures of sales partnering brands, as top 20 sellers registered 141% growth in items sold.

Among the greatest beneficiaries of e-commerce on the continent is the fashion industry. Due to the borderless nature of online marketplace, several fashion entrepreneurs are emerging in Nigeria and Africa by the day, and are leveraging e-commerce platforms  to project their products to a global audience. A cursory look shows that the Nigerian fashion industry has produced notable entrepreneurs who have leveraged online sales platforms to grow multi-million Naira businesses in the last nine years.

Thanks to e-commerce, African fashion industry is beginning to optimize its potential. According to Euromonitor, Sub-Saharan Africa’s clothing and footwear market is worth $31bn.

“The growth has prompted the expansion of foreign and local brands into the African clothing market. Companies are fulfilling increasing orders from the African diaspora, particularly in Europe and America, while sales of Ankara gowns and African print dresses are also popular among non-African consumers. This has led to the creation of African-based e-fashion platforms,” the report said.

Just like in developed economies, e-commerce has rubbed off positively on logistics in Nigeria, creating a win-win situation for investors in the sector and businesses alike.

For instance, Jumia’s investment in the logistics sector has boosted hundreds of independent logistics companies by incorporating them into the Jumia logistics network.

The impact of this on SMEs is obvious. During the last Black Friday window, Jumia Logistics handled 4.8 million packages. To further extend its impact on SMEs, the company opened its logistics network to businesses outside its marketplace.

During the pilot conducted in 2020, Jumia shipped almost half a million packages on behalf of more than 270 clients including large corporations such as banks, FMCG companies, mobile network operators as well as SMEs from a broad range of industries.

E-commerce activities have also created thousands of direct and indirect employment opportunities. An instance of this is JForce initiative, a nationwide network of sales consultants with a profit-sharing scheme in which the agent, who is also a Jumia consumer, earns a certain percentage as commission for successful orders placed for self or for others on Jumia’s retail chains.

JForce has continued to serve as a source of income for thousands of Nigerian youth with basic online shopping skills, especially in rural communities. With over 5000 employees, Jumia and other ecommerce businesses are expected to generate over three million jobs in Africa by 2025.

Also key in its contribution is the huge empowerment tool e-commerce has become for the female gender. A report released by the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) showed that women accounted for 41% ownership of micro businesses in Nigeria.

With apt knowledge of this crucial role of women in the SME subsector, Jumia has been empowering many women-owned businesses through various empowerment initiatives. The brand has been serving as a facilitator and enabler for women, especially fashion entrepreneurs. To achieve this, Jumia connects fashion entrepreneurs with acquisition managers who work with them to launch their fashion brands on Jumia platform, which is regarded as the foremost online fashion destination in Nigeria.

The Africa e-commerce unicorn is known for her partnership with Facebook for female owned SMEs by offering them a free master class on business growth accelerators, effective customer engagement strategy, and how to advertise their businesses and ultimately grow their businesses.

In addition to the brand’s initiative to bridge the unemployment gap, Jumia launched its ‘Women & Youth Empowerment’ pilot programme in Yaba, Lagos in June 2019. The programme is aimed at providing training and support to young women who are looking to expand their sources of income and also empower women through e-commerce.

Though e-commerce is still at its nascent stage in Nigeria and Africa with 1% penetration rate, it is already having a huge impact on entrepreneurs and businesses. It is thus safe to say that Nine years ago, Jumia planted the seed of growth for entrepreneurs and today, the seed is producing many crops.

Ayomide, a Public Relations Executive, writes from Lagos


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E-Business

Jumia Expands Nationwide Footprint, Deepens Reach Across Underserved Nigerian Cities

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e-commerce company, Jumia Nigeria, has announced a significant expansion of its logistics and pickup network across Nigeria, extending its reach into underserved regions and strengthening access to e-commerce services for millions of consumers.

The expansion, executed during the first quarter of 2026, marks a deliberate shift toward upcountry growth, with new and expanded operations across Northern Nigeria, including Kebbi, Sokoto, and Kaduna, while also strengthening presence in strategic cities like Zaria. The move is designed to close long-standing coverage gaps in high-potential areas and bring its services closer to more customers.

According to the company, the expansion reflects a convergence of customer demand, infrastructure strategy, and long-term market development, as more Nigerians outside major urban centres seek reliable access to digital retail.

“We are seeing a structural shift in where demand is coming from. What this expansion does is align our infrastructure with that reality. By extending our network deeper into the country, we are not only improving service delivery, but we are also unlocking new demand, enabling more sellers to participate in the digital economy, and building a more inclusive retail ecosystem that reflects the true scale of the Nigerian market,” said Temidayo Ojo, CEO of Jumia Nigeria.

The rollout includes a significant increase in pickup stations and delivery touchpoints across both established and emerging cities. Existing urban centres such as Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja and Port Harcourt have seen network density increase, while new and previously underserved locations are being integrated into Jumia’s logistics grid. This broader footprint is supported by investments towards parcel distribution centres, designed to decentralise inventory flow, reduce delivery time, and optimise operating costs across regions.

As part of the expansion, Jumia has also strengthened its logistics partnerships and delivery capacity, enabling more efficient last-mile fulfilment while creating income opportunities for a growing network of logistics partners and JForce agents. The company notes that these investments are critical to sustaining scale as order volumes increase across a more geographically diverse customer base.

Looking ahead, Jumia plans to extend its expansion into the South-East and South-South regions ahead of the peak retail season, further increasing its national coverage and reinforcing its position as a leading e-commerce platform in Nigeria.


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RHUCE Taps Into Africa’s $3Bn Creator Economy with New Monetisation Platform

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RHUCE, a new social platform designed for African creatives, has officially launched today, introducing a new model for how creators across the continent can turn their skills, learning, and content into income.

RHUCE Taps Into Africa’s $3B Creator Economy with New Monetisation Platform

RHUCE

As Africa’s creator economy, estimated at over $3 billion, continues to grow, millions of young people are building digital skills but struggle to convert them into sustainable opportunities. RHUCE aims to bridge this gap by combining professional identity, creator monetisation, and opportunity discovery in a single ecosystem.

“Across Africa, talent is everywhere, but opportunity is fragmented,” said Simeon Ifeoluwa Adeyanju, CEO of RHUCE Limited. “Creators are learning, building, and sharing their work, but they lack a structured way to turn that into visibility, credibility, and income.”

Unlike traditional platforms that prioritise virality or finished work, RHUCE enables users to document their growth in real time, transforming their learning journey into a living portfolio.

“We believe your journey is your greatest asset,” Adeyanju said. “On RHUCE, your growth becomes your portfolio, your consistency builds your credibility, and opportunities can discover you based on what you’re becoming, not just what you’ve done.”

The platform introduces a shift from application-based hiring to discovery-driven opportunities, where creators are matched with jobs, gigs, and collaborations based on their evolving skills and documented progress.

“Instead of chasing opportunities across WhatsApp groups, DMs, and multiple platforms, we’ve built a system where you can post once and be discovered continuously,” he added.

RHUCE also provides monetisation tools that allow creators to earn through digital products, paid learning content, and brand-sponsored campaigns, unlocking new income streams within Africa’s fast-growing digital economy.

With over 60% of Africa’s population under 25, the platform positions itself as infrastructure for the continent’s next generation of talent.

“RHUCE is not just a platform for finished professionals,” Adeyanju said. “It is for people becoming something. Our goal is simple: help Africans turn learning into opportunity, and opportunity into income.”


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E-Business

Kaspersky Warns of Digital Medicine Risks on the Occasion of World Health Day

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On World Health Day, Kaspersky warns of risks tied to the digitisation of healthcare and use of telemedicine. Recent incidents show that medical services can be breached, and as a result, medical records may be leaked and then traded on the dark web.

The operations of healthcare services can get disrupted. Another aspect is that healthcare platforms may share user data with third parties that handle it irresponsibly.

Telemedicine has moved from a convenience to a core part of healthcare delivery, but its security model has not kept pace with its adoption, and the risks are not theoretical. Recent incidents highlight how real these risks have become.

In 2023, it was disclosed that Cerebral, a major telehealth provider focused on mental health services, had been sharing sensitive patient data – including mental health assessments, intake information, and personal identifiers – with third-party platforms such as social media and advertising networks. Millions of users were affected over several years.

More broadly, incidents in 2025 illustrate a different but equally critical risk – large-scale disruption of digital healthcare infrastructure. The breach of the ManageMyHealth patient portal exposed sensitive medical records of more than 120,000 patients, while the attack on SimonMed Imaging compromised over a million records and led to ransomware demands. These cases show that both telemedicine platforms and the broader digital healthcare ecosystems are increasingly targeted by attackers.

In parallel, scam campaigns focusing on medical topics are evolving, inviting patients for check-ups or follow-up consultations. Often the domains of the alleged “medical services” websites were created just a few weeks ago, links to the social media accounts on their pages are not working, and the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy pages are absent.

At the same time, these pages request users’ personal information, including photos of documents and even photos of parts of the body that need medical attention. Such websites often try to convince users with branding, fake doctor profiles, and urgent calls to action.

Users risk submitting sensitive personal data that can be either sold on the dark web, be used for identity theft, or subsequently used in more sophisticated attacks in the future that are targeted specifically at them for further data extortion.

To safeguard sensitive data, use a reliable security solution with an AI-powered anti-phishing component which prevents clicking on malicious links.

“The digital healthcare experience is transforming access to care, but it is also expanding the attack surface in ways many users underestimate. Medical data is highly valuable and actively traded on the dark web, making patients a prime target for fraud and targeted phishing.

“At the same time, health-related scams exploit urgency and trust, using fake consultations or discounted offers to trick users into sharing sensitive information. Patients should approach digital healthcare with the same caution as financial services – verifying providers, avoiding unsolicited links, and understanding how their data is used. Security and privacy must become a core part of the digital healthcare experience,” comments Anna Larkina, Web Content and Privacy Analysis Expert at Kaspersky.


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