Africa Internet Holding (AIH), the largest internet incubator on the continent, today announced the start of its partnership with MTN, Africa’s leading telecoms company. To kick off proceedings, MTN and JUMIA, Africa’s no1 online shopping retail destination, are teaming up to offer an even more comprehensive service to its users in Ivory Coast, both online and on mobile devices.
Customers across Ivory Coast will now be able to enjoy a new way to pay for their JUMIA purchases with MTN’s Mobile Money system, which is designed to optimise online and mobile payments. Customers can make payments securely and efficiently using Mobile Money, and are also given access to exclusive offers and discounts to use on Jumia.ci.
Meanwhile, JUMIA is setting up a ‘Jumia Corner’ in MTN branches across the region to reach out to its customers locally and assist them in making online purchases. The first of 80 customer service points will launch on Tuesday in MTN’s flagship branch in Plateau, the economic capital of Ivory Coast, where customers will be able to get assistance from JUMIA staff or pick up an order placed on JUMIA that was paid for using the MTN Mobile Money system.
MTN President and CEO Sifiso Dabengwa said of the partnership campaigns: “We are delighted to be working with AIH on these innovative partnership campaigns. By bringing together our visions for the development of e- and m-commerce in Africa, we are able to make real change to the region whilst also enabling our customers to take advantage of even more great services and products.”
Jeremy Hodara, CEO of Africa Internet Holding: “For the first time in Ivory Coast, this partnership between JUMIA and MTN will give their customers the chance to experience a new level of choice and transparency when shopping online; from the choice of platform, to the preferred mode of payment, to their preferred method of delivery. And this is just the beginning. This partnership between AIH and MTN will spread to our other ventures, including Jovago, Kaymu and Easy Taxi in the next few weeks, where we will see further innovative collaborations.
In December 2013, Millicom, the international telecommunications and media company and Rocket Internet signed an agreement to partner with MTN to develop their African online company AIH. The JUMIA customer services points are just the first step in this exciting partnership between the two leaders of e-commerce in Africa.
