E-commerce company, Jumia Technologies on Monday, November 18 shut down its operations in Cameroon without notice just as it did in Gabon and Congo Republic; sparking fears and anxiety on the state of its health in other African countries.

Rebecca Enonchong, a Cameroonian-based tech entrepreneur, disclosed that the development is emblematic of Jumia; which she described as a badly-run business which is only in Africa to rip off Africans.

‘Beyond #JumiaIsNotAfrican, Jumia is simply a badly run business that is incapable of understanding its market, refuses to act as a good corporate citizen and thinks Africans are simply a commodity, a means to an end. No business with that attitude can succeed in the long term,’ Enonchong disclosed.

Likewise, an ex-employee of Jumia affirmed that the company is not much different from a Ponzi scheme. The former staff, who pleaded anonymity, noted that most ex-Jumia staff are not surprised at the development in Cameroon, even as he noted that it could happen even in Nigeria.

‘Jumia is run like a Ponzi scheme. Some of us were poached from rival companies with mouth-watering salary offers and laid off after six months. It is a standard Jumia practice to destabilize its competitors. What happened in Cameroon can happen anywhere, even in Nigeria. When it does, you cannot hold anyone there to account. The owners of the business are foreigners. Right from the period, it went public, I knew it was just a matter of time before the fraud that is Jumia would be uncovered.’

Meanwhile, Jumia revealed in a statement that its e-commerce platform activities in Cameroon were not suitable for the African state.

“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 to announce that its e-commerce operations in that country had been suspended.

However, the company said it would continue supporting buyers and vendors in Cameroon using its classified portal Jumia Deals.

The shut-down of its Cameroon operations makes it the third African country in which Jumia has folded up operations. It had earlier closed shop in Gabon and Congo Republic.

Meanwhile, a source at the company in Cameroon told Reuters that Jumia had chosen to prioritize growth over profitability; a move that had back-fired.

“We wanted to see how the business evolved. We can come back, but for now we’re closing to have time to study the market,” the source; who chose to remain anonymous, disclosed to Reuters.

The announcement of the suspension of its operations in Cameroon sent Jumia’s share price tumbling. Specifically, the shares hit a record low of $4.96.

Jumia had seen off a much-publicised listing on the New York Stock Exchange in April 2019. However, the company’s shares nose-dived after a report by US research firm, Citroen which declared the shares ‘worthless’. Equally, Citroen had claimed that Jumia had inflated the figures quoted in its prospectus.

‘“In 18 years of publishing, Citron has never seen such an obvious fraud as Jumia. “That is the Jumia way. To cover up and to commit fraud,” the report said.

Meanwhile, analysts and e-commerce watchers have reacted with dismay and shock to the Jumia shut-down in Cameroon. There are concerns that the same issues that had plagued Jumia in the three African countries it closed shop in were still ever-present in its other operational locations.

‘The Jumia strategy is one that has serious question marks hanging over it,’ disclosed Bode Akinpelu, an e-commerce enthusiast. ‘It has consistently prioritized growth over profitability and this has been touted as the reason for its failure in Cameroon. But the problem is the same in other countries in which Jumia operates, including Nigeria.

‘In fact, no one knows where the next shut-down will happen. It could be Nigeria, its biggest market or Ghana or Egypt. The situation is approaching critical, especially when one considers the impact on its investors, merchants, staff, creditors, suppliers and other stakeholders in the markets where Jumia folds up without warning.’

Jumia Technologies AG is a German-based e-commerce outfit. It was founded in 2012 in Berlin, Germany, and shareholders include the Berlin-based incubator and venture-capital firm Rocket Internet SE. Other early investors include French insurer Axa AXAHY, +0.04% and French telecoms company Orange ORA, +1.86%.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2019/11/19/jumia-shuts-down-in-cameroon/

Why not just sell off their business to organizations that can manage it better.

They'll make billions from the sale

Buhari why



\s

Eeya. Na border closure cause am.
Una never cheechumchin

Na them sabi, after Jumia sold substandard shoes packaged as Original & Classy to me at costly price, Since that day, it occurred to me that i know the locations of different Boutiques & Markets around town....

Next is DStv with their fraudulent business practices and irritating customer service.

i really hate Jumia's policy switch, without giving prior warning to sellers they would just bringing new policy on droping items, drop shipping and commission rate



..

Who still dey use Jumia?

Jumia has been operating at a loss for so long their hope was to corner the African ecommerce market in the hopes that the likes of Alibaba or Amazon will take notice and buy them.

Sometimes big companies expand their presence into other regions by taking over smaller companies in that region not because they cannot afford to establish a presence there but because its easier to buy the smaller company who already has the infrastructure and presence in that region. It also saves them the cost of competing with an already established rival.

However, in Jumia's case, their bad policies damaged their reputation plus the IPO at the NYSE backfired spectacularly. Today the company is like a virus no one's willing to touch.

Maybe I just majorly become a plug there and make things easier...... But what do I know

Meanwhile check out my signature and thread for beautiful offers on electronics

Really!!!

It's an opportunity for other companies to fill the void left by Jumia

GraGra247:
Why not just sell off their business to organizations that can manage it better.

They'll make billions from the sale

Did you read the article ?

Didn't you see where citreon even cited all jumia's numbers are fake ?

Didn't you see where the entire business model was criticized and their shares are tanking ?

Don't you understand this? This means no single investor in the world would buy it except an illiterate one

I think they should closed down.

Majority of the products on Jumia are fake or substandard with high prices. There are more fraudulent sellers that deceive (scammed) intending buyers with good product pictures but deliver unexpecting/fake/low quality products. The worst is that Jumia by their policies protect these set of Sellers, unfortunately, these set of sellers are in the majority on the platform.

Driving market share (growth) without prioritising customers' satisfaction and protecting customers' interests cum scamming one employees with (job insecurity) less than a year employment, will definitely see the company out of operations. They will continue to lose as much more customers they are gaining everyday. So profit will not be growing and eventually they will be out of the market.

Seriously, if not for our indifferent/tolerant attitude as Nigerian to people (govt, employers, recruiters, individuals, etc) who are oppressing us; Jumia should have not only suspended but closed their operations in Nigeria with the level of deceptive selling strategies adopted by majority of her sellers.

As for me, their app is only good for checking product prices, most especially technology (phones and computers) related products.

GraGra247:
Why not just sell off their business to organizations that can manage it better.

They'll make billions from the sale

The pioneer owners and early investors have already cashed out. That was the purpose of the IPO done in April 2019.

If what Citroen (the research company) published is true, then Jumia could be one of the biggest legal "yahoo" scams of our time.

Anyway, see the bright side. Find a business to build and sell-off by going public. That one can pay far better than any blood money or Yahoo scam with peace of mind too.


Meanwhile, my Sumec Firman Rugged Line RDX8910 Generator is still available for sale.
See link below and pick up asap.
https://www.nairaland.com/5409096/sumec-firman-ruggedline-rdx8910-6.8kva#82096219

They did consider xmas shopping

Slynation:
Na them sabi, after Jumia sold substandard shoes packaged as Original & Classy to me at costly price, Since that day, it occurred to me that i know the locations of different Boutiques & Markets around town....

same thing happened to me. I later dashed the shoe to my neighbors gateman. The business model is flawed. Spends too much on adverts but most of the products are low quality. Even leather belt i bought from iya risi since 2015 still dey intact . The one i got from jumai had lasted 6 months. Na the investors i pity . Their money is gone

I go to common man market to get my things... No time for time

Jumia hasn't brought my shoes and tomorrow is the deadline for delivery by their standards.

Na wa o

It happened in Cameroon, must they mention Nigeria?

If they like let them close sales in Ghana, Egypt , South Africa , Malaysia, Malawi and Mali ... I don’t give a damn Eziokwu .
If its just me they wud have packed up a long time ago from Nigeria.
I have always had trust issues, I don’t trust wat am seeing with my two necked eyes in the shop
How much more wat I see Oyibo holding up or wearing in pictures... dat am gonna get my Seize and same quality I see.

The next to shut down soon will be Ghana. Cos Jumia depends on retailers And west African countries including Cameroun depends on Nigeria to get supplies. So our border has been closed for 4 months now. Wahala dey for them.

Who buys stuff online in those countries they have shut down operation. CHEAP CIVIC down my sig

ValCon888:
Jumia has been operating at a loss for so long their hope was to corner the African ecommerce market in the hopes that the likes of Alibaba or Amazon will take notice and buy them.

Sometimes big companies expand their presence into other regions by taking over smaller companies in that region not because they cannot afford to establish a presence there but because its easier to buy the smaller company who already has the infrastructure and presence in that region. It also saves them the cost off competing with an already established rival.

However, in Jumia's case, their bad policies damaged their reputation plus the IPO at the NYSE backfired spectacularly. Today the company is like a virus no one's willing to touch.

Indeed, you seem to know what you are talking about.
Your comment has enlightened me as I do not do the Jumia and Konga stuff.

On a lighter note, the people that will blame Buhari for Jumia's closure in cameroon are still sleeping. Pending when they wake up, I think the comments so far are reasonable and logical.
Kudos.

And this was the same Jumia that wanted to sell IPO to American investors to collect millions of dollars

Jumia Nigeria are you ready ? To ..............

ppogba:



Indeed, you seem to know what you are talking about.
Your comment has enlightened me as I do not do the Jumia and Konga stuff.

[b]On a lighter note, the people that will blame Buhari for Jumia's closure in cameroon are still sleeping[/B]. Pending when they wake up, I think the comments so far are reasonable and logical.
Kudos.

Just be patient. They'll soon arrive.
demelza where your people dey oo. Party don start oo.

Before you quote me, please note that I am not a Buhari supporter.

Slynation:
Na them sabi, after Jumia sold substandard shoes packaged as Original & Classy to me at costly price, Since that day, it occurred to me that i know the locations of different Boutiques & Markets around town....

Its not their fault. It is that of the trader that advertised his substandard wares on their platform. Hope you returned it and got a refund.
Even with alliexpress, Amazon etc you have same issues hence jumia has to confirm from the buyer the product sold is as advertised before releasing payment to the seller.

Their products seems to be cheap but I discovered they are of low quality. I bought 32 inches TV from them last week at 32k while at store, same TV is about 40k.