Our choice of New York Stock Exchange is strategic — Jumia boss

Pan-African e-commerce platform, Jumia, for the umpteenth time gave reasons why it chose to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

This was made known through the Chief Executive Officer of Jumia Nigeria, Mrs Juliet Anammah.

About why they chose NYSE, Anammah said they contemplated several venues and met a lot of investors and that New York seemed the more natural place given the number of investors familiar with the business model.

“For us, this is really about creating more trust and raising the public profile to help with the business,” she said.

She stressed that tech focus in New York is valued more than in any other places, adding that they made a logical choice.

“We hope that the listing will help us with talent recruitment, retention, as we aim to attract more attention from top talent,” she said.

Anamah stated that by listing on NYSE shows that innovation is happening in Africa and they want to appreciate the work of their team members, the commitment of their sellers and the trust of their consumers.

“We have been private for seven years, and we see a lot of positive aspects to being public,” she said. “By joining the NYSE and by being the first African technology company to do so, we want to show the digital innovation happening in Africa.”

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Anammah noted that Jumia operates only in Africa (14 countries) and that Nigeria is its headquarter in Africa, adding that they have directly employed more than 5,000 people in Africa and have fostered economic growth for eighty thousand sellers in Africa.

Asked what the competition is like in Africa, she said there are no other pan-African player and no local competition in most of their markets except in South Africa and Egypt.

“We are focused on the fashion vertical in this market. We feel very positive about our position in this market,” she said.

When asked when they will have all their developers in Africa, she stated they have developers in several countries of Africa and are committed to recruit and train more, adding that everything should be in Africa.

“Jumia also acts as an incubator where a lot of talents pass through and is developed, as we reinforce the value of learning and growth. “As a result, we have ignited a vibrant scene of Jumia alumni who now run their own startup companies across Africa and are doing very well,” she further added.