Jumia bets on China imports and Nigeria growth to beat competitors, reach profitability

African e-commerce platform Jumia is doubling down on imported goods from China and expanding aggressively in Nigeria as it races to achieve profitability after years of losses.

• Jumia says Nigeria is now its biggest market as it expands sales from Chinese vendors.
• The African e-commerce company is battling growing competition from Temu and Shein.
• First-quarter revenue rose 39% to $50.6 million, though losses persisted.
• Jumia expects positive cash flow by Q4 and targets profitability by the end of next year.

The company said international sellers, especially from China and Turkey, drove strong growth in the first quarter as more African consumers searched for cheaper products amid rising living costs.

Jumia’s CEO, Francis Dufay, told Semafor that the company plans to continue increasing inventory from Chinese vendors while strengthening its position in Nigeria, now its largest market.

The strategy reflects changing dynamics in Africa’s fast-growing e-commerce sector, where Chinese discount platforms such as Temu and Shein are rapidly gaining ground with ultra-cheap products and aggressive marketing campaigns.

Temu entered Nigeria in late 2024 and quickly became one of the country’s most downloaded shopping apps, intensifying pressure on local and regional e-commerce players.

Jumia said the volume of products sold by international sellers on its platform rose 87% year-on-year during the first quarter.

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The company began increasing imports from Chinese merchants about two years ago to address supply shortages from local vendors and improve access to lower-cost products at scale.

The company also reported a 39% increase in first-quarter revenue to $50.6 million, while both order volume and gross merchandise value climbed by more than 30%.

Despite the growth, Jumia remained loss-making, continuing a trend that has persisted since its 2019 listing on the NYSE.

However, management said it expects to achieve positive cash flow by the fourth quarter of this year and aims to reach profitability by the end of next year.

The push comes at a difficult time for many African consumers dealing with inflation, weaker local currencies, and higher transport costs.

In Nigeria, which accounts for a major share of Jumia’s business, economic reforms including fuel subsidy removal and currency devaluation have sharply increased living costs over the past two years.

That has boosted demand for cheaper imported goods but also raised delivery and logistics expenses for retailers.

Dufay said higher fuel prices linked to tensions in the Middle East and the Iran conflict were increasing operating costs for the company. “We can’t really charge customers for it because their willingness to pay is limited,” he said.

Still, he said the impact of the crisis would not significantly alter Jumia’s medium-term financial targets.

Jumia has spent recent years restructuring its operations, exiting unprofitable markets, reducing costs, and focusing on core African countries including Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and Ivory Coast as it tries to convince investors that e-commerce can become sustainably profitable on the continent.