Jumia Shuts Down Operation In Cameroon, Fires All Staff

Online retailer Jumia Technologies has shut down its operations in Cameroon and firing all its workforce in what the platform says “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,” said Jumia in a statement.

Those preview to the suspension of Jumia’s operations in Cameroon says the company’s move to choose growth of their platform over profitability in Cameroon failed to yield fruits.

Jumia is the largest online shopping platform in Africa and often referred to as the “Amazon of Africa” and has been operational since 2012 and has a foot in more than 12 countries.

In April, Jumia’s share price was at 14.50 US Dollars after it listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) but has been dropping ever since, to below the 5 dollar mark last week.

“We wanted to see how the business evolved. We can come back, but for now, we are closing to have time to study the market,” said Jumia.

Cameroon is one of Africa’s largest economies that have in recent years plunged into a political turmoil, with the military taking over the streets, terrorizing citizens and scaring away investors.

According to stats from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the economic growth of Cameroon, which relies heavily on oil, was likely to slow to 3.9 percent in 2019 from 4.1 percent in 2018.

READ: Jumia’s Share Price Nosedives by Over 50 Pc After Fraud Allegations

As Jumia suspends operations in Cameroon, it remains strong in countries like Kenya where the majority of the people have shifted from traditional purchasing of products to e-Commerce.

Stats show that at least 60 percent of Kenyans who purchase products and services do so via online platforms such as Jumia.