EGYPT – Jumia, a Pan-African eCommerce platform, has partnered with the biggest state-owned bank in Egypt, the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), to offer some financial services via its payment channel and business line, JumiaPay.
This partnership comes after the NBE obtained an approval-in-principle from The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to engage JumiaPay in processing off-the-platform payments for third-party merchants on the Jumia eCommerce marketplace in Egypt.
As a result of the partnership, some services are now licenced on the JumiaPay business line for Egyptians, and they are, Payment Service Provider (PSP), Payment Facilitator (PayFac) and Payment Aggregator (PA).
These licences will allow for ease of online banking, a medium for merchants to integrate several payment modes, and enable the onboarding process of customers for electronic payments on the platform.
Initially launched as JumiaOne in September 2017, JumiaPay is the fintech vertical of the Jumia eCommerce platform, established as a third-party payment solution to provide a secure and rapid payment system for merchants and service providers.
Although, the question as to how JumiaPay intends to navigate a competition with Fawry, an Egyptian mobile money startup that is already a Unicorn, is not uncalled for.
Africa’s Jumia Technologies said on it plans to spend more on marketing and hire more technology professionals after reporting an increased loss in its second quarter.
Jumia, which became the first Africa-focused tech startup on the New York Stock Exchange when it listed there in 2019, reported the fastest growth in order volumes in five straight quarters in the period to end-June.
The company, which operates in more than 10 African countries spanning Morocco to South Africa, offers an online market place for vendors and food sellers, as well as associated services.
News of this partnership was revealed in Jumia Reports Second Quarter 2021 Results (PDF) which was released on August 10, 2021.
According to the report, the platform believes this partnership is a step in the right direction for The Jumia Group
It said total orders jumped 13% to 7.6 million from the same quarter a year earlier, while annual active platform users edged up 3% to 7 million.
Jumia’s adjusted loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization rose 5% year-on-year, while the value of total merchandise slid 11%, it said.
Increased investments in advertising and sales will help recruit new users who it wants to buy more everyday products from its platform like beauty and cleaning products, it added.
During the quarter, advertising and sales expenditure more than doubled to US$17.1 million from the same period in 2020.
Jumia plans to increase staff in its technology department by 40% by the end of the year, with a new tech hub in the Egyptian capital Cairo hosting more than 100 tech workers.
