Jumia is Rocket Internet‘s Online Retail business in Africa. According to Venture Village, Rocket Internet is preparing to open a new branch of Jumia, its Amazon copycat in the MENA region, in Kenya. So far, there’s only a pre-launch site in place and a Facebook page, established January 15.
This will be Rocket Internet’s second venture in Kenya after hellofood, the online food ordering business.
Rocket Internet has already launched Jumia in Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco. It has become a household name in Nigeria after it emerged from the consolidation of Sabunta.com and Kasuwa.com. And it has gained a major following as one of the two major online retail sites (the second is Konga.com) after the demise of Kalahari, Naspers online retail business in Nigeria. Aware of its potentials, J P Morgan recently invested some funds in the business.
There is really no major competitor in Kenya and it seems that Jumia will meet no opposition there. However, Jumia should realise that there would be major challenges when it comes to delivery of items. For instance, Kenya needs to invest in street numbering as not many streets have adequate information. Maybe Jumia will have to initially concentrate its delivery to few major streets in Nairobi. But we know no mountain is too high for Rocket Internet.
Wish Rocket Internet the best in their African dominance.