Furthermore, in some of the countries in which we operate, local banks have faced liquidity and funding issues and may face such issues in the future, which could lead to bank failures or systemic collapse, which in turn could result in an economic slowdown in the particular region.
An economic downturn, whether actual or perceived, currency volatility, a decrease in economic growth rates or an otherwise uncertain economic outlook in the countries where we operate could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Currency volatility and inflation may materially adversely affect our business.
Third-party sellers and customers transact on our marketplace in local currency. The economies of a number of the African countries in which we operate are affected by high currency exchange rate volatility due to, among other things, inflation, selective tariff barriers, raw material prices, current account balances and widespread corruption and political uncertainty. In particular, inflation indicators were elevated in a number of our countries at the end of 2024, for example the consumer price index (“CPI”) year-over-year increases in December 2024 amounted to 35% in Nigeria, 24% in Egypt and 24%in Ghana, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of Nigeria, Central Bank of Egypt and IMF data, respectively. Inflation levels are expected to remain elevated throughout 2025. Higher inflation rates are putting significant pressure on consumer sentiment and spending power, while affecting our sellers’ ability to import and source goods. Challenges on both the supply and demand fronts negatively affected the performance of our usage indicators, in 2024. In addition, the inflationary pressure and currency devaluations, including the devaluation of the Nigerian Naira in June 2023 and of both the Nigerian Naira and the Egyptian Pound in the first quarter of 2024, are further exacerbated by regional conflicts and other acts of terrorism with notable exposures in a number of African countries such as Egypt that engage in trading activities with one or more of the parties involved in a regional conflict.
Currency volatility and high inflation in any of the countries in which we operate could increase the cost of goods to our third-party sellers while decreasing the purchasing power of our customers. If sellers are unable to pass along price increases to customers, we could lose sellers from our marketplace. Similarly, if customers are unwilling to pay higher prices, we could lose customers.
The occurrence of any of these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Exchange controls may restrict the ability of our subsidiaries to convert or transfer sums in foreign currencies.
Our ability to generate operating cash flows at the level of the Company depends on the ability of its subsidiaries to upstream funds. Several of the countries in which we currently operate, including Egypt, have exchange controls and other regulations that can, from time to time, place restrictions on the exchange of local currency for foreign currency and the transfer of funds abroad. These controls generally have not created major operational problems in the past because of our negative profitability, but may become more onerous in the future. These controls and regulations can make it more expensive to exchange local currency for foreign currency and can extend the timeline of foreign exchange transactions. These controls and other controls that may be implemented in the future could limit the ability of our subsidiaries to transfer cash to us.
Moreover, in some of the countries in which we currently operate, our sellers have experienced, and may experience in the future, difficulties in converting large amounts of local currency into foreign currency due in particular to illiquid foreign exchange markets, preventing them from importing certain goods and impeding their ability to sell successfully on our marketplace. In addition, as the cash flows of certain countries are highly dependent on the export of certain raw materials, the ability to convert such currencies can be limited by the timing of payments for such exports, requiring us to organize our currency conversions around such constraints.
We can offer no assurance that additional restrictions on currency exchange will not be implemented in the future or that these restrictions will not limit the ability of our subsidiaries to transfer cash to us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Uncertainties with respect to the legal system in certain African markets could adversely affect us.
Legal systems in Africa vary significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Many countries in Africa have not yet developed a fully integrated legal system, and recently enacted laws and regulations may not sufficiently cover all aspects of economic activities in such markets. In particular, the interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations involve uncertainties. Since local administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory provisions and contractual terms, it may be difficult to predict the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and our level of legal protection in many of our markets. Moreover, local courts may have broad discretion to reject enforcement of foreign awards. These uncertainties may affect our ability to enforce our contractual rights or other claims. Uncertainty regarding inconsistent regulatory and legal systems may also embolden plaintiffs to exploit such uncertainties through unmerited or frivolous legal actions or threats in attempts to extract payments or benefits from us.
Many African legal systems are based in part on government policies and internal rules, some of which are not published on a timely basis, or at all, and may have retroactive effect. There are other circumstances where key regulatory definitions are unclear, imprecise, or missing, or where interpretations that are adopted by regulators are inconsistent with interpretations adopted by a court in analogous cases. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of certain policies and rules until after the violation. In addition, any administrative and court proceedings in Africa may be protracted, resulting in substantial costs and the diversion of resources and management attention.
It is possible that a number of laws and regulations may be adopted or construed to apply to us in Africa and elsewhere that could restrict our business. Scrutiny and regulation of the industries in which we operate may further increase, and we may be required to devote additional legal and other resources to addressing such regulation. Changes in current laws or regulations or the imposition of new laws and regulations in our markets or elsewhere regarding e-commerce may slow our growth and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and prospects.
Our business may be materially and adversely affected by violent crime or terrorism in any region of Africa.
Many of the markets in which we operate suffer from a high incidence in violent crime and terrorism, which may harm our business. Violent crime has the potential to interfere with our delivery and fulfillment operations, in particular, given the fact that a high proportion of transactions on our marketplace are settled in cash. Our warehouses may also be targets of criminal acts. Violent crime may also discourage economic activity, weaken consumer confidence, diminish consumer purchasing power or cause harm to our sellers and customers in other ways, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and prospects.
Growth of our business depends on an increase in internet penetration in Africa and other external factors, some of which are beyond our control.
Our business model relies on an increase in internet penetration and digital literacy in Africa. Even though the main urban centers of Africa typically offer reliable wired internet service, a substantial portion of the population are inhabitants of rural areas, which largely depend on mobile networks. Internet penetration in the markets in which we operate may not reach the levels seen in more developed countries for reasons that are beyond our control, including the lack of necessary network infrastructure or delayed implementation of performance improvements or security measures. The internet infrastructure in the markets in which we operate may not be able to support growth in the number of users, their frequency of use or their bandwidth requirements. Delays in telecommunication and infrastructure development or other technology shortfalls may also impede improvements in internet reliability. If telecommunications services are not sufficiently available to support the growth of the internet, response times could be slower, which would reduce internet usage and harm our platform. Internet penetration may decline if providers become insolvent or decide to exit a specific country. The price of personal computers, mobile devices and internet access, particularly with respect to mobile data rates, may also limit the growth of internet penetration in the markets in which we operate. Accordingly, there is no guarantee that internet penetration rates, and in particular, mobile internet penetration rates, will continue to grow as we anticipate. Internet penetration in our target markets may even stagnate or decline. Digital illiteracy among many customers and sellers in Africa presents obstacles to e-commerce growth.
If internet penetration and digital literacy do not increase in our markets of operation, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
The continued growth of our business and e-commerce will depend on a number of other factors, some of which are beyond our control, including, the trust and confidence level of e-commerce sellers and customers, changes in demographics and customer tastes and preferences. Even if internet penetration rates increase, physical retail or face-to-face transactions may remain the predominant form of commerce in our markets due to, among other factors, a lack of trust and confidence in e-commerce offerings. There is no guarantee that customers will adapt to the use of the internet for customer transactions on the scale we anticipate.
A failure of e-commerce to continue to grow as we anticipate in the markets in which we operate could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We face competition, which may intensify.
As the e-commerce business model is relatively new in the markets in which we operate, competition for market share may intensify significantly. Current competitors, such as Amazon and noon in Egypt, and Konga in Nigeria, may seek to intensify their investments in those markets and also expand their businesses in new markets. Some of our competitors currently copy our marketing campaigns, and such competitors may undertake more far-reaching marketing events or adopt more aggressive pricing policies, all of which could adversely impact our competitive position. We also compete with a large and fragmented group of offline retailers, such as traditional brick-and-mortar retailers and market traders, in each of the markets in which we operate. In addition, new competitors may emerge, or global e-commerce companies, such as Amazon, Asos, Alibaba or Shein, which already offer shipping services to certain African countries for a selection of products, may expand across our markets, and such competitors may have greater access to financial, technological and marketing resources than we do. We also face competition from transactions taking place through other platforms, including via social media sites such as Instagram or Facebook.
Competitive pressure from current or future competitors or our failure to quickly and effectively adapt to a changing competitive landscape could adversely affect demand for the goods available on our marketplace and could thereby adversely affect our growth. Given the early stage of the e-commerce industry in the markets in which we operate,
the share of goods sold and purchased via e-commerce may be small and loyalty of sellers and customers may therefore be low. Current or future competitors may offer lower commissions to sellers than we do, and we may be forced to lower commissions in order to maintain our market share.
If we fail to compete effectively, we may lose existing sellers or customers and fail to attract new sellers or customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
If we are unable to adapt to changes in our industry or successfully launch and monetize new and innovative technologies, our growth and profitability could be adversely affected.
The internet and e-commerce industry is characterized by rapidly changing technology, evolving industry standards, new product and service introductions and changing customer demand. Despite our investment of significant resources in developing our infrastructure, such as our logistics service, changes and developments in our industry may require us to re-evaluate our business model and significantly modify our long-term strategies and business plan.
We constantly seek to develop new and innovative technologies. Our ability to monetize these technologies and other new business lines in a timely manner and operate them profitably depends on a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, including:
•our ability to manage the financial and operational aspects of developing and launching new technologies, including making appropriate investments in our software systems, information technologies and operational infrastructure;
•our ability to secure required governmental permits and approvals and implement appropriate compliance procedures;
•the level of commitment and interest from our current and potential third-party innovators;
•our competitors developing and implementing similar or better technology;
•our ability to effectively manage any third-party challenges to the intellectual property behind our technology;
•our ability to collect, combine and leverage data about our customers collected online and through our new technology in compliance with data protection laws; and
•general economic and business conditions affecting consumer confidence and spending and the overall strength of our business.
We may not be able to grow our new technologies or operate them profitably, and these new and innovative technology initiatives may never generate material revenue. In addition, our technology development requires substantial management time and resources, which may result in disruptions to our existing business operations and adversely affect our financial condition, which may decrease our profitability and growth.
We may not be able to maintain our existing partnerships, strategic alliances or other business relationships or enter into new ones. We may have limited control over such relationships, and these relationships may not provide the anticipated benefits.
We partner with numerous third parties. For example, more than 210 logistics providers are integrated into our logistics service and help us and our sellers deliver goods to customers. Additionally, we may enter into new strategic relationships in the future. Such relationships involve risks, including but not limited to: maintaining good working relationships with the other party, any economic or business interests of the other party that are inconsistent with ours, the other party’s failure to fund its share of capital for operations or to fulfill its other commitments, including providing accurate and timely accounting and financial information to us, which could negatively impact our operating results, loss of key personnel, actions taken by our strategic partners that may not be compliant with applicable rules, regulations and laws, including licensing requirements, reputational concerns regarding our partners or our leadership that may be imputed to us, bankruptcy, requiring us to assume all risks and capital requirements related to the relationship, and the related bankruptcy proceedings could have an adverse impact on the relationship, and any actions arising out of the relationship that may result
in reputational harm or legal exposure to us. Further, these relationships may not deliver the benefits that were originally anticipated.
Any of these factors may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may fail to maintain or grow the size of our customer base or the level of engagement of our customers.
The size and engagement level of our customer base are critical to our success. Our business and financial performance have been and will continue to be significantly determined by our success in adding, retaining, and engaging Quarterly Active Customers. We continue to invest significant resources to grow our customer base and increase participant engagement, whether through innovation, providing new or improved goods or services, marketing efforts or other means. We cannot assure that our customer base and engagement levels will continue growing at satisfactory rates, or at all. Our customer growth and engagement could be adversely affected if, among other things:
•we are unable to maintain the quality of our existing goods and services;
•we are unsuccessful in innovating or introducing new goods and services;
•we fail to adapt to changes in participant preferences, market trends or advancements in technology;
•technical or other problems prevent us from delivering our goods or services in a timely and reliable manner or otherwise affect the participant experience;
•there are participant concerns related to privacy, safety, security or reputational factors;
•there are adverse changes to our platform that are mandated by, or that we elect to make in response to, legislation, regulation, or litigation, including settlements or consent decrees;
•we fail to maintain the brand image of our platform or our reputation is damaged; or
•there are unexpected changes to the demographic trends or economic development of the markets in which we operate.
Our efforts to avoid or address any of these events could require us to make substantial expenditures to modify or adapt our services or platform. If we fail to retain or grow our participant base, or if our users reduce their engagement with our platform, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.
Sellers set their own prices and decide which goods they make available on our marketplace, which could affect our ability to respond to customer preferences and trends.
We do not control the portfolio or pricing strategies of our sellers, which could affect our ability to effectively compete on the breadth of our product assortment or on price with the other distribution channels. Our sellers may be unaware of customer preferences and trends and fail to offer the products our customers prefer. Additionally, our sellers may employ different pricing strategies based on the geographical location of customers, which could lead customers to look for more competitively priced products on other distribution channels. Our sellers may also engage in fictitious pricing, an advertising tactic wherein sellers exaggerate the level of discounts provided on certain products by comparing the discount price to a prior-reference price at which the product was never really offered for sale. Such tactics, if perpetrated by our sellers, may alienate customers from our marketplace and harm our reputation. Moreover, sellers that are prevented from engaging in fictitious pricing on our marketplace may choose to list their goods on other channels instead of our marketplace, which could also result in a loss of customers.
If customers are unable to purchase their preferred products at competitive prices on our marketplace, they may choose to purchase products elsewhere, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We depend on third-party carriers as part of our fulfillment process.
We depend on the services of third-party carriers for the delivery of a large number of goods to our warehouses and subsequently to the distribution centers of third-party carriers and from there to our customers. Even where goods do not enter our warehouses, these goods are handled by third-party carriers who directly receive them from sellers.
Consequently, we have only limited control over the timing of deliveries and the security and quality of the goods while they are being transported. Customers may experience shipping delays due to inclement weather, natural disasters, employment strikes or terrorism, and/or goods may be damaged or lost in transit. If goods are of a poor quality or damaged or lost in transit, not delivered in a timely manner, or if we are not able to provide adequate customer support, our customers may become dissatisfied and cease buying their goods through our marketplace.
It may be difficult to replace any of our current third-party carriers due to a lack of alternative offerings at comparable prices and/or service quality in the relevant geographic area. Given the infrastructure deficiencies in the markets in which we currently operate, experienced and highly qualified third-party carriers are in increasing demand and accordingly, have only limited capacities. As a result, competition for delivery capacities may intensify even further. In addition, our carriers may increase their prices, which would adversely affect our results. Our third party-party carriers may fail to secure or maintain licenses required to operate and may be required to stop operating if their activities are not duly licensed. Furthermore, as we continue to grow, our existing carriers may be unable to keep up with such growth, and we may have to contract additional carriers. There is no guarantee that their services and prices will be satisfactory to us or our customers. An inability to maintain and expand a network of high-quality third-party carriers at attractive costs could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may experience malfunctions or disruptions of our technology systems.
We rely on a complex technology platform and technology systems to operate our websites and apps. While we analyze our technology systems regularly, we may not be able to correctly assess their susceptibility to errors, hacking or viruses. For example, certain software we use for our business is based on open-source software, which may expose our business to systemic problems if errors in the open-source code are not detected in a timely manner.
Our systems may experience service interruptions or degradation because of hardware and software defects or malfunctions, computer denial-of-service and other cyberattacks, human error, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, natural disasters, power losses, disruptions in telecommunications services, fraud, military or political conflicts, terrorist attacks, computer viruses, or other events. Our systems are also subject to break-ins, sabotage and intentional acts of vandalism. Some of our systems are not fully redundant, and our disaster recovery planning is not sufficient for all eventualities. In particular, as we have not yet completed a full disaster recovery check, we may not be aware of any material weaknesses in our disaster recovery systems. Any failure of or disruptions to our technology systems may lead to significant malfunctions and downtimes of our websites and apps. If our algorithms suffer from programing failures or our technology systems experience disruptions, we may be unable to deliver goods on time or misallocate goods, either of which could adversely affect our business. Furthermore, we do not have an adequate business continuity infrastructure, and any failure of a key piece of infrastructure may lead to extended outages and generally affect our business continuity. In addition, we may not adequately manage malfunctions. If we cannot fix any malfunction ourselves, we may have to pay third parties to fix the malfunction or to license functioning software, which may be costly.
We have experienced and will likely continue to experience system failures, denial-of-service attacks and other events or conditions from time to time that interrupt the availability or reduce the speed or functionality of our websites and mobile applications. Reliability is particularly critical for us because the full-time availability of our payment services is critical to our goal of gaining widespread acceptance among customers and sellers, in particular with respect to digital and mobile payments. Frequent or persistent interruptions in our services could cause current or potential customers to believe that our systems are unreliable, leading them to switch to our competitors or to avoid our sites, which could irreparably harm our reputation and brands. To the extent that any system failure or similar event results in damages to our customers or their businesses, these customers could seek significant compensation from us for their losses and such claims, even if unsuccessful, would likely be time consuming and costly to address.
In addition, we depend on certain third-party service providers to operate and maintain certain of our technology systems, such as cloud services. If such service providers experience malfunctions or disruptions of their technology or increase their prices, it could adversely affect our business. Furthermore, if we need to switch service providers, for example if certain software is no longer fully compatible with our technology platform or no longer available in any
country in which we currently operate (e.g., due to sanctions), there is no guarantee that alternative service providers will be available to us or that we would manage the transition successfully.
As we continue to grow our business, we may be required to further scale our technology platform and technology systems, including by adding and migrating to new systems and proprietary software, replacing outdated hardware and increasing the integration of our technology systems. Such changes may, however, be delayed or fail due to malfunctions or an inability to integrate new software and functions with our existing technology platform, resulting in disruptions to our operations and insufficient scale to support our future growth. In addition, as a provider of payments solutions, we are subject to increased scrutiny by regulators that may require specific business continuity and disaster recovery plans and more rigorous testing of such plans. This increased scrutiny may be costly and time consuming and may divert our resources from other business priorities.
Any malfunctions and disruptions of our technology systems could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may experience security breaches and disruptions due to hacking, viruses, fraud, malicious attacks and other circumstances.
We operate websites, apps and other technology systems through which we collect, maintain, transmit and store sensitive information, such as credit or debit card information, about our customers, sellers, suppliers and other third parties. We also store proprietary information and business secrets. Additionally, we employ third-party service providers that store, process and transmit such information on our behalf, in particular payment details. Furthermore, we rely on encryption and authentication technology licensed from third parties to securely transmit sensitive and confidential information. While we take steps such as the use of password policies and firewalls to protect the security, integrity and confidentiality of sensitive and confidential information, our security practices may be insufficient and third parties may access our technology systems without authorization – such as through trojans, spyware, ransomware or other malware attacks – which may result in unauthorized use or disclosure of such information. Such attacks might lead to blackmailing attempts, forcing us to pay substantial amounts to release our captured data or resulting in the unauthorized release of such data. Given that techniques used in these attacks change frequently and often are not recognized until launched against a target, it may be impossible to properly secure our technology systems. In addition, technical advances or a continued expansion and increased complexity of our technology platform could increase the likelihood of security breaches. For example, in early 2022, we experienced a cybersecurity incident in which an unauthorized third-party gained access to limited data within Jumia’s information technology systems. The incident did not impact our operations and we took remedial measures to contain it. While we continue to invest in our information technology and systems to protect the security, integrity and confidentiality of our data, there can be no assurance that a cybersecurity incident will not happen in the future.
Security breaches may also occur as a result of non-technical issues, including intentional or inadvertent breaches by our employees or third-party service providers.
Any leakage of sensitive information could lead to a misuse of data, including unsolicited emails or other messages based on spam lists fed with such data. Inefficient management of administrator and user accounts may increase the risk of fraud and malfunctions. In addition, any such breach could violate applicable privacy, data security and other laws, and cause significant legal and financial risks or negative publicity, and could adversely affect our business and reputation. We may need to devote significant resources to protect ourselves against security breaches or to address such breaches, and there is no guarantee that our resources will be sufficient to do so. Furthermore, we provide certain information to third-party service providers, such as Google, who help us assess the performance of our business. Consequently, we have only limited control over the protection of such information by the relevant third-party service providers and may be adversely affected by breaches and disruptions of their respective technology systems.
Security breaches and disruptions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We conduct a substantial amount of our business in foreign currencies, which heightens our exposure to the risk of exchange rate fluctuations.
We are subject to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates between the US Dollar, our reporting currency, and currencies of other countries where we market or source our goods, for example the Nigerian Naira, the Egyptian Pound,
the Kenyan Shilling and the West African CFA Franc. Such fluctuations may result in significant increases or decreases in our reported revenue and other results as expressed in US Dollar, and in the reported value of our assets, liabilities and cash flows. In addition, currency fluctuation may adversely affect receivables, payables, debt, firm commitments and forecast transactions denominated in foreign currencies. In particular, transition risks arise where parts of the cost of sales are not denominated in the same currency of such sales. We currently do not hedge this exposure. Fluctuation in exchange rates, depreciation of local currencies, changes in monetary and/or fiscal policy or inflation in the countries in which we operate could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
The future growth of our business depends on several external factors, some of which are beyond our control, and there is no guarantee that we can maintain our historical growth rates.
We have historically experienced growth in our usage indicators, such as Annual Active Customers, Quarterly Active Customers, Orders or GMV. In 2024, some usage indicators declined and there can be no assurance that we will resume our historical growth in the future. The levels of marketing investments and promotional intensity may fluctuate over time which may negatively affect usage indicators. External effects, such as acts of war and acts of terrorism, which have caused supply and logistics challenges for our business, may also negatively affect our growth trajectory. In addition, a shift in the relative proportion of first-party sales to third-party sales may significantly and negatively affect any reported revenue growth and can cause a decline in reported revenue.
The growth of our business is dependent on our ability to both retain existing and add new sellers, which we may not be able to continue to do at historic rates and acquisition costs, or at all. As we scale our business, we face the risk that our current sellers may not successfully increase their offers to keep up with increasing customer demand, which may require us to increase our first-party sales. Alternatively, we could select and onboard new local or international sellers to keep up with the increasing customer demand; however, doing so might prove more difficult than expected or we may not be able to onboard new sellers at all. Furthermore, if we onboard too many international sellers, we risk alienating local sellers which would compound supply issues.
Our local sellers, some of whom rely on imports for supply, may be negatively affected by local currency devaluations as well as global supply chain disruption. Curtailed access to supply for our local sellers may negatively affect the breadth of assortment on our platform which in turn may affect usage growth and overall performance of the business.
We also face the risk of losing sellers due to seller insolvency. If any of our current sellers were to become insolvent, they would no longer be able to offer products on our marketplace. Additionally, they may not be able to fulfill open orders and deliver products as promised. Furthermore, if we pay a seller before such seller fulfills its obligations to our customers, we may be unable to recover from such a seller any funds paid for undelivered items, for example if the seller becomes insolvent.
The occurrence of any of the risks described above could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may not be able to manage future growth efficiently, which may adversely affect our business.
We aim to grow our business and our leadership in the markets in which we operate. If we succeed in significantly increasing the number of our Annual Active Customers, we will be required to further expand and improve our marketplace, technology systems, fulfillment infrastructure and customer support, which we may not achieve in a timely and cost-effective manner. If we are unable to successfully manage future growth, customer satisfaction and our reputation may be negatively affected.
Growth of our business may also place significant demands on our management and key employees, as expansion will increase the complexity of our business and place a significant strain on our management, operations, technical systems, financial resources and internal control over financial reporting functions. Our current and planned personnel, systems, procedures and controls may not be adequate to support and effectively manage our future operations, especially as we employ personnel in numerous geographic locations. Our ability to hire a sufficient number of new employees for our expanding operations depends on the overall availability of qualified employees, and our ability to offer them sufficiently attractive employment terms compared to other employers. Functional experts such as technology experts and compliance specialists are particularly hard to recruit and retain in the markets in which we operate.
If we experience significant future growth, we may be required not only to make additional investments in our platform and workforce, but also to expand our relationships with various partners and other third parties with whom we do business, such as third-party carriers, and to expend time and effort to integrate such parties into our operations. The expansion of our business could exceed the capacities of our partners and other third parties willing to do business with us, and if they are unable to keep up with our growth, our operations could be adversely affected.
Any failure to meet such challenges may lead to an increase in the risk of disruptions and compliance violations, could adversely affect our profitability, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may fail to effectively monetize our services, which could negatively affect our business and prospects.
We may fail to effectively monetize our services, particularly as a number of our monetization avenues are nascent or untested. For example, as the competitive landscape in Africa increases, we may need to decrease the rate of our seller commissions in order to retain our seller base. Additionally, effective monetization of our nascent marketing and advertising service depends on our ability to generate sufficient usage on our platform and an attractive return on investment to advertisers. Furthermore, we cannot guarantee the successful off-platform expansion of JumiaPay. Any failure to successfully monetize these or other of our services could negatively affect our business and prospects.
We may be unable to maintain and expand our relationships with sellers or to find additional sellers for our marketplace.
Our sellers range from small merchants and artisans to larger corporations. If we fail to maintain and expand our existing relationships or to build new relationships with sellers on acceptable commercial terms, we will not be able to maintain and expand our broad product and service offering, which could adversely affect our business.
In order to maintain and expand our relationships with our current sellers and to attract additional quality sellers, we need, among other factors, to:
•provide a simple and easy to use platform, on which sellers can attractively present their goods and services;
•demonstrate our ability to help our sellers sell significant volumes of their goods;
•provide sellers with effective marketing and advertising products;
•offer an innovative platform;
•offer sellers a high-quality, cost-effective fulfillment process, including returns; and
•continue to provide sellers with a dynamic and real time view of demand and inventory via data and analytics capabilities.
If we fail to maintain an attractive mix of sellers or fail to find quality sellers of attractive goods, if such sellers refuse to use our platform or if we do not manage these relationships efficiently, we may not be able to grow as anticipated, which could adversely affect our business. Our competitors may seek to enter into exclusivity agreements with certain sellers and thereby prevent us from partnering with such sellers. Competitors or retailers may encourage manufacturers to limit distribution to sellers who sell through us.
Our policy is to delist any goods or sellers who repeatedly fail to meet our performance standards (e.g., product quality, environmental compliance and labor relations standards), which may lead to a significant reduction of sellers on our marketplace. Furthermore, sellers may decide to cease cooperating with us, discontinue their operations, or may face financial distress or other business disruptions. As a result, we may not be able to maintain and expand our product offering and may consequently lose customers to competitors with a larger seller base.
An inability to find, engage and retain the right sellers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
In order to offer our customers an attractive product mix, we may be required to find sellers abroad or to engage in selling goods ourselves.
The more attractive the product mix on our marketplace, the more customers visit our marketplace and order from our sellers. However, there can be no assurance that our sellers will offer a product mix that is attractive to our customers. If we identify gaps in the product offering on our marketplace, we either seek to have sellers from abroad, such as China, offer their goods on our marketplace or, in some cases, decide to sell goods ourselves. Sellers from abroad may, however, not be sufficiently familiar with local customer preferences or only be interested in listing high value goods, as low value goods may not allow them to recover the costs incurred for sales over our marketplace.
Furthermore, there can be no assurance that sellers from abroad will not face issues with import restrictions or delays in obtaining required customs clearances. As a growing percentage of our revenue stems from cross-border sales, future import restrictions, delays in obtaining required customs clearances, in particular with respect to goods imported from China, or events negatively affecting international trade may have a material adverse effect on our revenue.
Where we engage directly in selling goods, we take on inventory risk. Customer preferences regarding price, quality and design of certain goods may change rapidly, making it difficult to accurately forecast future demand. If we fail to correctly anticipate the demand, we may not be able to avoid overstocking or understocking certain goods. If we underestimate demand, this may result in a loss of customers who are unsatisfied with our delivery times. If we overestimate demand, we may experience excess inventories and may ultimately be forced to record losses for write-offs on inventory. In order to sell such excess inventories, we may choose to sell goods at significant discounts, which may adversely affect our profit margins and the level of prices we can demand for other goods, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We face challenges with failed deliveries, excessive returns and voucher abuse, which may materially and adversely affect our business and prospects.
Many of our orders are home delivery. For home deliveries, customers need to be present at the point of delivery or need to have made arrangements for drop-off or delivery to a third person. In addition, for orders to be paid in cash on delivery, the relevant customer must provide payment at the time of delivery. However, there is no guarantee that our customers will actually be present at scheduled delivery locations at the scheduled delivery times. If a customer is not present and has not made other arrangements, we schedule a new delivery time. We typically make three delivery attempts, and if all of these attempts fail, we return the product to the seller. If there is a failed delivery, we are required to notify the seller within 21 days of when the package was shipped. If we do not notify the seller within this timeframe, we must take possession of the item and accept the loss as a result of the failed delivery.
Even if the product is successfully delivered to the customer and delivery is verified, most of our sellers are required, either by local regulations or by our operating standards, to allow customers to return goods within a certain period of time after delivery. For example, in Egypt, which is one of our largest markets, customers have a legal right to return any product within fourteen days after delivery, without having to provide any reason. This is known as the right of withdrawal and applies as long as the product is in the same condition as when delivered. Furthermore, if our sellers offer more customer friendly return policies, the number of returns may increase, which could adversely affect our business. We also utilize an algorithm that determines, based upon a number of factors, whether a customer will receive a refund for a returned item. In some instances, the algorithm might make a refund determination before our after-sales team is able to review and process the refund. Any mistakes or errors in the algorithm could result in mistaken refunds, which in turn could result in loss of sales.
In certain markets, we also offer guarantees in the event that a damaged or defective product is delivered. Although we have instituted these guarantees in an effort to increase customer satisfaction, customers may abuse our guarantee policies which could harm our business. Additionally, we seek to increase customer satisfaction across all markets by offering apology vouchers to our customers on a case-by-case basis in the event of a failed or incorrect delivery. However, we periodically experience fraud and voucher abuse wherein account owners have managed to receive duplicate apology vouchers for the same transaction.
A significant increase in failed deliveries, excessive or mistaken returns, or voucher abuse – due to changing customer behavior, customer dissatisfaction with our goods or customer service, or otherwise – may force us to allocate additional resources to mitigating these issues, may force us to waive our commission fees and may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We face risks associated with our use of third-party delivery agents and our acceptance of cash on delivery as a payment method, which may materially and adversely affect our business and prospects.
We face risks associated with our use of third-party delivery agents, including the risk that such agents might misappropriate inventory. Additionally, we struggle to verify delivery when our third-party delivery partners deliver packages without obtaining customer signatures. When goods are delivered without verification, we may be required to deliver a duplicate product.
We also face risks associated with our acceptance of cash on delivery as a payment method. When a third-party delivery agent successfully delivers a product and accepts cash payment from the customer, we face the risks of late collections (in the event that the third-party delivery agent does not remit the funds to us on time) or unrecoverable receivables (in the event that the third-party delivery agent commits fraud or becomes insolvent). These risks are particularly acute in countries where the percentage of outsourced deliveries is high.
Any significant increase in misappropriated inventory, late collections or unrecoverable receivables, whether due to fraud or otherwise, may force us to allocate additional resources to mitigating these issues, may force us to waive our commission fees and may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may be subject to allegations and lawsuits concerning the content of our platform or claiming that items listed on our marketplace are counterfeit, pirated or illegal.
We operate a marketplace where sellers can offer their goods and directly contact our customers. Customers or regulatory authorities may allege that items offered or sold through our marketplace infringe third-party copyrights, trademarks and patents or other intellectual property rights, are pirated or illegal or violate consumer protection laws or regulations. While we have adopted certain measures to verify the authenticity of goods sold on our marketplace (for example, periodic screening procedures, content verification for new sellers or for sellers who sell goods at prices that seem too low for genuine goods) and to penalize sellers who attempt to sell infringing goods, these measures may not always be successful in minimizing potential violations and/or infringement of third-party intellectual property rights.
When we receive complaints or allegations regarding infringement or counterfeit, pirated or illegal goods, we follow certain procedures to verify the nature of the complaint and the relevant facts in order to be able to determine the appropriate action, which may include removal of the item from our marketplace and, in certain cases, discontinuing our relationship with a seller who repeatedly violates our policies. We believe these procedures are important to ensure confidence in our marketplace among sellers and customers. However, these procedures could result in the delay of de-listing of allegedly infringing goods and may not effectively reduce or eliminate our liability. In particular, we may be subject to civil or criminal liability for unlawful activities carried out, including goods listed, by third parties on our platform.
In the event that alleged counterfeit, pirated, illegal or infringing goods are listed or sold on our marketplace, we could face claims for such listings, sales or alleged infringement or for our failure to act in a timely or effective manner to restrict or limit such sales or infringement. Regardless of the validity of any claims made against us, we may incur significant costs and efforts to defend against or settle such claims. For example, we have in the past received inquiries regarding product status from the relevant regulators in Nigeria and certain other countries where we operate. If a governmental authority determines that we have aided and abetted the infringement or sale of counterfeit, pirated or illegal goods, we could face regulatory, civil or criminal penalties. Successful claims by third-party rights owners could require us to pay substantial damages or refrain from permitting any further listing of the relevant items. These types of claims could force us to modify our business practices and implement further measures in an effort to protect against these potential liabilities, which could lower our revenue, increase our costs or make our platform less attractive and user-friendly. Sellers whose content is removed or services are suspended or terminated by us, regardless of our compliance with the applicable laws, rules and regulations, may dispute our actions and commence action against us for damages based on breach of contract or other causes of action or make public complaints or allegations. Any costs incurred as a result of liability or asserted liability relating to the sale of unlawful goods or other infringement could harm our business.
In addition, the public perception that counterfeit, pirated or illegal items are commonplace on our marketplace or perceived delays in our removal of these items, even if factually incorrect, could damage our reputation, result in lower list prices for goods sold through our marketplace, deter sellers, customers and brands from doing business via our platform, harm our business, result in regulatory pressure or action against us and diminish the value of our brand.
The materialization of any of these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Harmful goods, product defects and product recalls could adversely affect our business and reputation.
As the goods offered through our marketplace are manufactured by third parties, we have only limited control over the quality of these goods. We cannot always effectively prevent our sellers from selling harmful or defective goods, which could cause death, disease or injury to our customers or damage their property. We may be seen as having facilitated the sale of such goods and may be forced to recall such goods. Where we act directly as seller, we may also have to recall harmful goods. In all of these cases, we may not be able to avoid product liability claims and/or administrative fines or criminal charges against us. There is no guarantee that we will be adequately insured against such risks or that we will be able to take recourse against the sellers or suppliers from whom we sourced these goods, in particular if the seller or supplier is located in a foreign country where enforcement of our rights may be difficult, such as China, or does not have sufficient capital to indemnify us. In addition, any negative publicity resulting from product recalls or the assertion that we sold defective goods could damage our brand and reputation.
The sale of harmful or defective goods and product recalls could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Failure to deal effectively with any fraud perpetrated and fictitious transactions conducted on our platform could harm our business.
We face risks with respect to fraudulent activities on our platform. Given the countries in which we operate, the number of participants on our platform and the fragmentation of our business, it is a challenge to anticipate, detect and address fraudulent activities. Although we have implemented various measures to detect and reduce the occurrence of fraudulent activities on our platform, there can be no assurance that such measures will be effective in combating fraudulent transactions or improving overall satisfaction among sellers, customers and other participants. Additional measures that we take to address fraud could also negatively affect the attractiveness of our platform to sellers or customers.
For example, we may receive complaints from customers who may not have received goods that they had purchased, or complaints from sellers who have not received payment for the goods ordered. In addition to fraudulent transactions with legitimate customers, sellers may also engage in fictitious or “phantom” transactions with themselves or collaborators in order to artificially inflate their own ratings on our marketplace, reputation and search results rankings. This activity may harm other sellers by enabling the perpetrating seller to be favored over legitimate sellers and may harm customers by deceiving them into believing that a seller is more reliable or trusted than the seller actually is.
We have experienced improper practices, including practices engaged in by our independent sales consultants and a small number of our employees. For example, in September 2022, we discovered that an employee in Kenya manipulated certain seller payment entries and misappropriated payments in 2021 and 2022. While the financial impact in this case was not material (below $150 thousand), any such illegal, fraudulent or collusive activities by our employees could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and could subject us to liability or negative publicity. Allegations of employee misconduct have led us to improve our internal controls and our cash reconciliation system. We routinely monitor our internal controls, processes and procedures at a country and group level, but we can provide no assurances that such controls, processes and procedures will prove effective. Any illegal, fraudulent or collusive activity conducted by our employees could adversely affect our profitability and could severely damage our brand and reputation as an operator of a trusted marketplace, which could drive sellers, customers and other participants away from our marketplace.
Negative publicity and customer sentiment generated as a result of actual or alleged fraudulent or deceptive conduct on our platform or by our employees could severely diminish customer confidence in us and in our services, reduce our ability to attract new or retain current customers, sellers and other participants, discourage banks and card issuers from allowing their payment instruments to be used to conduct transactions on our platform, harm investor confidence, negatively affect our ability to raise additional capital, damage our reputation and diminish the value of our brand; any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
In addition to seller fraud and fraud committed by our employees, partners or other third parties, we face the risk of fraud perpetrated directly by our customers. Customer fraud may harm seller confidence in the integrity of our marketplace and the certainty of payment and may harm our reputation, including our reputation with our payment partners.
We may be subject to chargeback and refund liability if our sellers do not reimburse chargebacks or refunds resolved in favor of their customers.
We face risks associated with chargebacks and refunds in connection with payment card fraud or relating to the goods or services provided by sellers on our marketplace. When a billing dispute with respect to a transaction on our platform is resolved in favor of the cardholder, including in instances of fraudulent seller activity, the transaction is typically “charged back” to us and the purchase price is credited or otherwise refunded to the cardholder. If we do not collect chargebacks or refunds from the seller’s account, or if the seller refuses to or is unable to reimburse us for chargebacks or refund due to closure, insolvency, or other reasons, we may lose the amount refunded to the cardholder. Our financial results would be adversely affected to the extent that sellers do not fully reimburse us for the related chargebacks. Additionally, chargebacks occur more frequently with online transactions than with in-person transactions. Any increase in chargebacks or refunds not paid by our sellers may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may fail to maintain or expand our logistics capabilities.
The successful operation and expansion of our logistics service is crucial to maintain and enhance customer satisfaction and to our business and continued growth.
Our warehouses handle a number of functions, including inbound freight, storage, packaging, outbound freight, and handling of returns. These processes are complex and depend on sophisticated know-how and technological infrastructure. Any failure or disruption of our logistics, including due to software malfunctions, inability to renew leases for existing offices or warehouses, theft from or disruptions to the processes within our warehouses, labor strikes, fires, natural disasters, pandemics (such as COVID-19), acts of terrorism, vandalism or sabotage could adversely affect our ability deliver goods ordered via our marketplace in a timely manner, increase our logistics costs and harm our reputation.
Furthermore, delivery times for our goods vary due to a variety of factors such as relevant goods, stock levels, location of warehouses from which goods are shipped, speed of our sellers, number of goods included in the relevant order, country in which sellers and customers are located and the speed of third-party carriers. Customers may expect faster delivery times and more convenient deliveries than we can provide. If we are unable to meet customer expectations, or if our competitors are able to deliver goods faster or more conveniently, our reputation and competitiveness may suffer and we could lose customers, which could adversely affect our revenue.
Additionally, we face the risk that any of our third-party carriers, who often collect cash-on-delivery payments from our customers, may become insolvent, in which case our delivery capability would be adversely affected, and we would be unable to collect the cash payments such a carrier still held on our behalf. Even though we would not be able to collect from an insolvent third-party carrier, we would still be obligated to pay our sellers whose goods were already delivered to customers. The insolvency of any of our third-party carriers could harm our business and financial condition.
Our current logistics capacity may prove insufficient if our business grows. There is no guarantee that we will be able to open additional warehouses, find delivery partners with sufficient capacity in an efficient and timely manner, lease additional suitable warehouses on acceptable terms, expand other areas of our fulfillment process to the extent necessary or recruit qualified personnel required to operate our warehouses and manage such expansion. Any failure to expand our logistics capacity to meet the demands of our continued growth could prevent us from growing our business.
If we decide to expand geographically or add new businesses or product categories with different logistics requirements or change the composition of our product offering, our logistics infrastructure may require greater processing capacity, requiring us to adapt our logistics service and to find new partners. Any expansion or difficulties we encounter in our operations may force us to change the current set-up and organization of our logistics network, including by relocating or outsourcing certain capabilities. However, there is no guarantee that the associated transition will be smooth and we may be unable to react to such challenges in a cost-effective and timely manner.
An inability to efficiently operate and expand our warehouses and logistics capabilities could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
If any of our logistics services were to malfunction, suffer an outage or otherwise fail, our business may be materially and adversely affected.
We cooperate with a number of third-party logistics and delivery companies to help our sellers fulfill orders and deliver their goods to customers, in particular with respect to last-mile delivery, and to meet the requirements of our third-party logistics clients. We have established a logistics information platform that links our information system to those of our logistics partners. Interruptions to or failures in our third-parties’ logistics and delivery services, or in our logistics information platform, could prevent the timely or proper delivery of goods to customers, which could harm our reputation, in particular if such interruptions or failures occur during one of our key sales events, like Black Friday. These interruptions may be caused by events that are beyond our control or the control of these third parties, such as inclement weather, natural disasters, transportation disruptions or labor or other political unrest. Our logistics and delivery services could also be affected or interrupted by industry consolidation, service provider failure, insolvency, change in regulations or government shut-downs.
If the logistics information platform we use were to fail for any reason, our logistics providers may find it more difficult or even impossible to connect with our sellers, and their services and the functionality of our platform could be severely affected. Our existing disaster recovery plans may not be sufficient to ensure a timely remediation of such failures or disruptions.
In addition, in the event of any interruptions to or failures in our third-parties’ logistics and delivery services, or in our logistics service, we could be held liable by our sellers and/or customers for any resulting damage.
If goods sold on our marketplace are not delivered in proper condition, on a timely basis or at shipping rates that marketplace participants are willing to bear, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
The costs of our logistics service are subject to fluctuation in the prices of raw materials and fuel, and we may not be able to pass on price increases to our sellers and customers.
Our logistics service provides solutions for the delivery of goods ordered through our marketplace. Our logistics service includes a number of logistics partners, with whom we agree on certain economical terms and settle the incurred costs. While we seek to pass on to our sellers and customers most of the costs of these logistic services, we typically bear the risk of cost fluctuation. The costs of our logistics service are typically influenced by a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control, including raw material and fuel prices which are volatile in our countries of operation, labor costs, rent levels, import tariffs and fluctuation in foreign exchange rates, the capacity and utilization rates of our sellers and carriers, which in turn depend on general demand, as well as the quantities of goods we demand and our specifications. As a result, our costs may vary considerably in the short-term and increase significantly if certain partners experience shortages. There is no guarantee that we will be able to pass on such costs to our sellers or customers through price increases, and such price increases could adversely affect demand for the goods or services sold on our marketplace. If competitors are able to offer lower prices as they benefit from decreasing raw materials or fuel prices, sellers and customers may demand that we also lower our prices, irrespective of the actual development of our costs.
Increases in logistics costs and an inability to pass on such increases to our sellers and customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Changes in how customers fund their transactions using our payment service could harm our business.
We may pay significant transaction fees when customers fund payment transactions using credit, debit or prepaid cards, mobile money or via bank transfers, and no fees when customers fund payment transactions from an existing Jumia account balance or when customers pay cash on delivery.
The financial success of our payment services is sensitive to changes in the rate at which our customers fund payments, which can significantly increase our costs. Some of our customers may prefer to use credit, debit or prepaid cards due to their functionality and/or benefits. An increase in the proportion of more expensive payment forms as
compared to less expensive payment forms could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Our payment service, JumiaPay, could fail to function properly, and we may not be able to expand or integrate JumiaPay into other online portals.
JumiaPay, together with its network of licensed payment service providers and other partners, facilitates transactions between sellers and customers and provides certain participants with access to financial services. Due to the variety and complexity of the payment methods we offer, we may experience failures in our checkout process, such as banks rejecting payment or customers having insufficient funds, which could adversely affect our conversion rate, defined as the share of potential customers visiting our marketplace who actually place an order, and our business. We may also experience complications and errors in our payment processing services such as paying duplicate refunds to certain customers or failing to remit refunds to our customers in a timely manner.
We rely on third parties to provide payment processing services. We also rely on third-party payment processors, and encryption and authentication technology licensed from third parties, to securely transmit customers’ personal information. If these companies become unwilling or unable to provide these services or increase their fees, such as bank and intermediary fees for card payments, our operations may be disrupted and our operating costs could increase. Our invoice and billing systems may malfunction due to the implementation of new payment methods and technology, errors in existing codes or other technology issues. Any such issues may impair our ability to create correct invoices, avoid the recording of duplicate invoices or payments and collect payments in a timely manner, or at all. Even though we aim to contract with multiple providers with overlapping competencies, we cannot guarantee that our third-party sellers will not experience a disruption in their services, increase their costs, or discontinue their services.
In addition, our current payment infrastructure may prove insufficient if we continue to grow. For instance, we may not be able to process high volumes. Any failure of the technology behind our payment solutions could be disruptive.
Malfunctions of our payment systems or our failure to effectively manage the growth of JumiaPay could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We could be subject to liability and forced to change our JumiaPay business practices if we were found to be subject to or in violation of any laws or regulations governing banking, money transmission, tax regulation, anti-money laundering regulations or electronic funds transfers in any country where we operate; or if new legislation regarding our JumiaPay business practices were enacted in the countries where JumiaPay operates.
A number of jurisdictions where we operate have enacted legislation regulating payment service providers, money transmitters and/or electronic payments or funds transfers. In a number of these countries, the legal framework, its interpretation and/or enforcement has recently changed substantially and we are challenged to adjust our operations. If our operation of JumiaPay were found to be in violation of payment services laws or regulations or any tax or anti-money laundering regulations, or engaged in an unauthorized banking or financial business, we could be subject to liability, forced to cease doing business with residents of certain countries, or forced to change our business practices. In Ivory Coast, since the beginning of 2024, companies operating payment services as their primary activity are required to obtain a Payment Service Provider ("PSP") license and comply with specific operational standards. The relevant regulator has set a deadline of January 31, 2025, for companies to comply with these requirements. While we believe that we are not operating payment services as our primary activity, there is no assurance that the regulator agrees with our view.
Any change to our JumiaPay business practices due to current or new legislation that makes the service less attractive to customers or prohibits its use by residents of a particular jurisdiction could harm our business. Even if we are not forced to change our JumiaPay business practices, we could be required to obtain licenses or regulatory approvals that could be very expensive and time consuming, and we cannot assure that we would be able to obtain these licenses in a timely manner or at all.
Deterioration in the performance of, or our relationship with, third-party payment providers or aggregators may adversely affect JumiaPay and harm our business.
JumiaPay often relies on payment providers and aggregators to facilitate customer payments. Payment providers and aggregators collect payment from customers via credit, debit or prepaid cards, mobile money accounts or bank transfers and then forward payment to the merchants, usually within one to three business days. Thus, payment providers
allow merchants to collect card or bank transfer payments without establishing a direct relationship with banks and/or card networks used by our customers. If our relationship with such other service providers or third-party aggregators weakens, our ability to provide payment services to our customers may be adversely affected. Lastly, if these third-party providers and aggregators fail to meet certain quality standards, our business and reputation may suffer. If we fail to extend or renew agreements with these aggregators on acceptable terms, this may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Changes to payment card networks or bank fees, rules, or practices, or our inability to allow customers to use payment cards on our platform could harm our business.
From time to time, payment card networks or relevant banking regulators have increased the interchange fees and assessments that they charge for each transaction that accesses their networks, and they may further increase such fees and assessments in the future. Although our agreement with Mastercard enables us to use Mastercard Payment Gateway Services to process payment transactions, we face the risk that banks and payment processors might pass on to us any increases in interchange fees and assessments. Any changes in interchange fees and assessments could increase our operating costs and reduce our operating income.
We are required by our processors to comply with payment card network operating rules, including special operating rules for payment service providers to sellers, and we have agreed to reimburse our processors for any fines they are assessed by payment card networks as a result of any rule violations by us or our sellers. The payment card networks set and interpret the card operating rules and could interpret or re-interpret existing rules or adopt new operating rules that we or our processors might find difficult or even impossible to follow, or costly to implement. As a result, we could lose our ability to give customers the option of using payment cards to fund their payments or the choice of currency in which they would like their card to be charged. Any inability to accept payment cards or any meaningful limitation in our ability to do so, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may be subject to card fraud or other fraudulent behavior, including as a result of identity theft.
Under current card practices, we may be liable for fraudulent card transactions. We do not currently carry insurance against this risk.
Furthermore, there is no guarantee that our established fraud scoring and risk handling systems will function properly at all times or that there are no gaps or errors in our algorithms that may result in unauthorized purchases. In addition, increasingly strict legislation on data protection may limit our ability to obtain the data required for our algorithms to function properly. Consequently, we may fail to identify fraudulent transactions before they occur or prevent fraudulent transactions from occurring.
If purchases or payments are not properly authorized or payment confirmations are transmitted in error, the relevant customer may have insufficient funds or be able to defraud us, which could adversely affect our operations and result in increased legal expenses and fees. Customers who are victims of fraudulent transactions where outside individuals use valid customer account data to purchase goods, including as a result of identity theft, generally, have the right to require that we return those funds. In such instances of fraud, we may not be able to, or may not seek to, recover these chargebacks. We operate a delayed settlement regime in an effort to prevent this type of fraud and avoid distributing funds to insolvent sellers that fail to deliver their products. However, we cannot guarantee that such a regime will always prove effective.
Because our payment service, JumiaPay, is highly automated and allows for instant payment, we experience heightened susceptibility to fraud. We cannot completely guard against internal or external intruders into our data platform who may seek to use or manipulate our systems to create, transfer, or otherwise misappropriate funds belonging to legitimate customers or to create new accounts or modify or delete existing accounts. We aim to balance convenience and security for sellers and customers, and we cannot guarantee that we will be completely successful in preventing fraud. Furthermore, permitting new and innovative online payment options may increase the risk of fraud. High levels of fraud could result in an obligation to comply with additional requirements, pay higher payment processing fees or fines, or prevent us from retaining our customers.
Fraudulent behavior could subject us to liability, damage our reputation and brand and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Dissatisfaction with our customer support could prevent us from retaining our customers.
As most interactions with customers and sellers are conducted online, customers and sellers may become frustrated when they cannot communicate with a representative over the phone. We pursue a multi-channel approach to customer support, responding to requests by email, through our hotlines and via social media. The satisfaction of our customers depends on the effectiveness of our customer service, particularly our ability to deal with complaints in a timely and satisfying manner. As we continue to grow, we may need to add customer support capabilities and may not be able to do so in a timely manner or in a manner consistent with our expense reduction goals, or at all. Any unsatisfactory response or lack of responsiveness by our customer support team, whether due to interruptions of our hotlines or other factors, could adversely affect customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Dissatisfaction with our customer support could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Any failure to maintain, protect and enhance our reputation and brand may adversely affect our business.
The recognition and reputation of our brand among our platform participants are critical for the growth and continued success of our business and for our competitiveness in the markets in which we operate. Any loss of trust in our platform could harm the value of our brand and result in customers and sellers ceasing to transact business on our marketplace or participants reducing the level of their commercial activity in our ecosystem, which could materially reduce our revenue and profitability. As competition intensifies, we anticipate that maintaining and enhancing our reputation and brand may become increasingly difficult and expensive, and investments to improve our reputation and increase the value of our brand may not be successful. Many factors, some of which are beyond our control, are important for maintaining and enhancing the reputation of our platform and brand, including our ability to:
•maintain and improve the reliability and security of our platform;
•maintain and improve the popularity, attractiveness, diversity, quality and value of the goods and services offered on our platform;
•increase brand awareness through marketing and brand promotion activities;
•preserve our reputation;
•maintain and improve our relationships with sellers;
•maintain and improve customer satisfaction and loyalty;
•maintain and improve the efficiency, reliability and quality of our payment and logistics services; and
•manage new and existing technologies and sales channels, including our mobile applications.
Any failure to offer high quality goods and excellent customer service could subject us to legal action or damage our reputation and brand and lead to a loss of customers. For example, administrative agencies in several countries in which we operate require certification for various consumer goods before they can be offered for sale on our marketplace. Our third-party sellers are responsible for obtaining these certifications. If we allow third-party sellers to place their goods on our marketplace without proper certification, we might project to our customers that they cannot always rely on goods available on our marketplace, we might be subject to fines or sanctions and we might face complaints from other compliant sellers. We also have procedures in place to ensure pre-shipping quality control checks, but, there can be no assurance that we will be able to catch all products that do not meet our quality standards, which could result in a loss of customer confidence and harm our reputation. Our policy of delisting the sellers of noncompliant and/or low-quality goods until they produce the proper certificates and licenses or until their products meet our high-quality standards allows us to respond to complaints from administrative agencies and sellers. However, any delisting of sellers limits the total number of sales on our marketplace.
A large percentage of our products are offered by third-party sellers and delivered by third-party companies and are not completely within our control. Consequently, we may receive negative publicity, and in some cases may share liability, in cases of inappropriate actions of such sellers and delivery companies such as violations of product safety
regulations, environmental standards, tax compliance, import rules, labor laws or incidents involving drivers and/or customers that may make it more difficult for us to recruit new employees or may require us to change our business model. We also rely on third parties for information, including product characteristics and availability of goods we offer, which may be inaccurate. While our policy is to delist goods or sellers that fail to meet certain standards, there is no guarantee that we are capable of delisting these goods and sellers in a timely manner, or at all.
We may be the target of anti-competitive behavior, harassment, or other detrimental conduct by third parties, including from our competitors. Such conduct may include complaints, anonymous or otherwise, to regulatory agencies, which may arise from actions taken by third parties or our own commercial actions. As a result of such conduct, we may be subject to government or regulatory investigation and may be required to expend significant time and incur substantial costs to address such conduct. There is no guarantee that we will be able to conclusively refute each of the allegations within a reasonable period of time, or at all.
Any failure to maintain, protect and enhance our reputation and brands, whether as a result of our own actions or those of third parties, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Our investments in marketing may fail to yield the desired results.
In order to reach a diverse customer base in the e-commerce industry and to further build awareness of our brand, we have incurred, and continue to incur, substantial marketing expenses. While we continued to decrease our marketing expenses in 2024 compared to prior years, we may incur a higher level of marketing expenses in the future. We cannot guarantee that our investment in marketing will be effective in growing the usage of our platform.
For purposes of planning our future marketing efforts, including deciding on the mix of marketing channels and setting our marketing budget, we rely on data regarding the effectiveness of marketing measures and channels collected in the past. Any inability to accurately measure the effectiveness of our marketing measures and channels, for example due to the time lag between the first customer contact and the placement of an order as well as the time of the order and revenue realization, may lead to our marketing efforts not having the desired effect, which may negatively affect our growth and business. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that our assumptions regarding required customer acquisition costs and resulting revenue, including those relating to the effectiveness of our marketing investments, will prove to be correct.
We cannot guarantee that our current marketing channels will continue to be effective or generally available to us in the future. Our online partners may not be able to deliver the anticipated number of customer visits, or visitors attracted to our marketplace by such events may not make the anticipated purchases. New regulation may adversely affect certain marketing channels, in particular regulation aimed at controlling and censoring social media and increasing data protection of natural persons. If we are not able to use our existing marketing channels due to increasing regulatory scrutiny, it could limit our ability to acquire and retain customers.
An inability to attract sufficient traffic to our platform, have potential customers download our app to their mobile devices, translate a sufficient number of website visits or app downloads into purchasers with sufficiently large order values, build and maintain a loyal customer base, increase the purchase frequency of these customers, or do any of the foregoing on a cost-effective basis, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may be unable to effectively communicate with our customers through email, other messages or social media.
We rely on newsletters in the form of emails and other messaging services in order to promote our marketplace and inform customers of our product offerings and/or the status of their transactions. Changes in how webmail services organize and prioritize emails, as well as actions by third parties to block, impose restrictions on, or charge for the delivery of emails and other messages, as well as legal or regulatory changes with respect to “permission-based marketing” or generally limiting our right to send such messages, could reduce the number of customers opening our emails.
Additionally, malfunctions of our email and messaging services could result in erroneous messages being sent and customers no longer wanting to receive any messages from us. Furthermore, our process of obtaining consent from visitors to our marketplace to receive newsletters and other messages from us and to allow us to use their data may be insufficient
or invalid. As a result, such individuals or third parties may accuse us of sending unsolicited advertisements and other messages, and our use of email and other messaging services could result in claims against us.
Since we also rely on social media to communicate with our customers, changes to the terms and conditions of relevant providers could limit our ability to communicate through social media. These services may change their algorithms or interfaces without notifying us, which may reduce our visibility. In addition, there could be a decline in the use of such social media by our customers, in which case we may be required to find other, potentially more expensive, communication channels.
An inability to communicate through emails, other messages or social media could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We rely on service providers to drive traffic to our website, and these providers may change their search engine algorithms or pricing in ways that could negatively affect our business.
Our success depends on our ability to attract customers in a cost-effective manner. With respect to our marketing channels, we rely heavily on relationships with providers of online services, search engines, social media, directories and other websites to provide content, advertising banners and other links that direct customers to our websites. We rely on these relationships as significant sources of traffic to our marketplace. We also depend on app store providers to allow potential customers to download our app to their mobile devices.
Search engine companies change their natural search engine algorithms periodically, and our ranking in organic search results may be adversely affected by those changes. Search engine companies may also determine that we are not in compliance with their guidelines and consequently penalize us in their algorithms. If search engines change or penalize us with their algorithms, terms of service, display and featuring of search results, or if competition increases for advertisements, we may be unable to cost-effectively drive customers to our website and apps. Any removal of our app from app stores could materially and adversely affect our business operations.
Investments in our technology platform and technology infrastructure may not yield the desired results.
We have developed a scalable technology platform to facilitate and integrate our business operations, data gathering analysis and online marketing capabilities and have invested significant capital and time into building and updating our technology platform and infrastructure. In order to remain competitive, we expect to continue to make significant investments in our technology. However, there is no guarantee that the resources we have invested or will invest in the future will allow us to develop suitable technology solutions and maintain and expand our technology platform and technology infrastructure as intended, which may adversely affect our ability to compete or require us to purchase expensive software solutions from third-party developers.
If our investments in our technology platform and technology infrastructure do not yield the desired results, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may fail to operate, maintain, integrate and upgrade our technology infrastructure, or to adopt and apply technological advances.
Our growth and success depend on our websites and apps being accessible to customers at all times and to be fault tolerant. It may become increasingly difficult to maintain and improve the availability of our websites and apps, especially during peak usage times and as our product offering becomes more complex and the number of visitors to our marketplace increases. We have experienced disruptions in the past, including temporary downtimes of our websites due to third-party outages, and we may experience disruptions, outages, or other issues in the future, due to changes in our technology infrastructure, software malfunctions, third-party outages, fires, natural disasters, acts of terrorism, vandalism or sabotage. If we fail to effectively address capacity constraints, respond adequately to disruptions or upgrade our technology infrastructure, our mobile apps or websites could become unavailable or fail to load quickly, and customers may decide to shop elsewhere, and may not return, which could adversely affect our business.
Given that the internet and mobile devices are characterized by rapid technological advances, including advances in the field of machine learning, artificial intelligence, micro-services and server-less architecture, our future success will depend on our ability to adapt our websites, apps and other parts of our technology platform to such advances and to sustain their interoperability with relevant operating systems. Our customers largely rely on mobile devices to access our
offerings. The variety of technical and other configurations across mobile devices and platforms makes it more difficult to develop websites and apps that are suitable for multiple channels. In addition, any changes in popular operating systems may reduce the functionality of our websites and apps or give preferential treatment to competitors. Any failure to adapt to technological advances in a timely manner and to integrate our offerings through our websites and apps could decrease the attractiveness of our websites and apps and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Our use of open-source software may pose particular risks to our proprietary software and systems.
We use open-source software in our proprietary software and systems and intend to continue using open-source software in the future. From time to time, we may face claims from third parties claiming infringement of their intellectual property rights or demanding the release or license of the open-source software or derivative works that we developed using such software (which could include our proprietary source code) or otherwise seeking to enforce the terms of the applicable open-source license. These claims could result in litigation and could require us to purchase a costly license, publicly release the affected portions of our source code, be limited in or cease using the implicated software unless and until we can re-engineer such software to avoid infringement or change the use of, or remove, the implicated open-source software.
In addition to risks related to license requirements, use of certain open-source software can lead to greater risks than use of third-party commercial software, as open-source licensors generally do not provide warranties, indemnities or other contractual protections with respect to the software (for example, non-infringement or functionality). Our use of open-source software may also present additional security risks because the source code for open-source software is publicly available, which may make it easier for hackers and other third parties to determine how to breach our website and systems that rely on open-source software.
Any of these risks could be difficult to eliminate or manage, and, if not addressed, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We depend on our personnel to grow and operate our business and may not be able to retain and replace existing personnel or to attract new personnel.
We depend upon the continued services and performance of our senior officers and other key personnel, many of whom have a level of experience and local knowledge that would be difficult to replicate. The unexpected departure or loss of any of our senior officers or other key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to attract or retain suitable replacements for such personnel in a timely manner or at all. We may also incur significant additional costs in recruiting and retaining suitable replacements. In addition, from time to time, there may be changes in our management team and our overall employee headcount that may be disruptive to our business. The reduction in our overall employee headcount may lead to capacity constraints. In addition, terminated employees might seek to negatively affect our reputation or may disclose confidential information to the public or third parties, such as competitors.
Our success and growth strategy also depend on our ability to expand our business by identifying, attracting, recruiting, training, integrating, managing and motivating new and talented personnel, which may require significant time, investments, and management attention. Competition for talent is intense, particularly for technology experts and other qualified personnel in our fields of operations. For example, other leading technology platforms also operate technology centers in Porto, Portugal, and compete directly with us for the same talent pool. In addition, certain governments started to promote access of indigenous peoples to better workplaces by limiting the number of expatriates or foreign workers. While our local workforces are mostly comprised of local employees, some of our group-level management and certain key personnel on a local level are expatriates from countries outside Africa, and any employment and immigration regulations may adversely affect our ability to retain or replace the required personnel. In addition, our employees and/or the third-party service providers with whom we collaborate may experience accidents or become victims of criminal actions in carrying out their duties, which may make it more difficult for us to recruit new employees or may even require us to change our business model. Finally, we may experience difficulty in staffing, developing, and managing our operations as a result of distance, language, and cultural differences among our employees operating in different countries.
An inability to retain and replace existing personnel or to attract new personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We manage our operations on a decentralized basis, which presents certain risks, including the risk that we may be slower or less able to identify or react to problems affecting our business than we would in a more centralized environment.
If we do not accurately forecast revenue or appropriately plan our expenses, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Our business is subject to seasonal fluctuation which may have a material impact on our results.
Our business is seasonal and, consequently, our revenue tends to fluctuate from quarter to quarter. For example, we consider the fourth quarter, which includes Black Friday and in many countries the year-end holidays, as especially important for generating revenue. Certain special events, including elections or Jumia Anniversary, result in increased demand for goods on our marketplace. In the future, such seasonality may become even more pronounced if customers focus more strongly on certain special events.
As a result of this seasonality, any factor that adversely affects demand for goods on our marketplace during periods where we generally experience particularly high demand, including unfavorable economic or political conditions or the outbreak of an epidemic at the relevant time, logistics and other fulfillment constraints resulting in higher delivery times, malfunctions of our websites, and special offers from our competitors, may have a disproportionate effect on our performance, and we may incur lower revenue and losses due to write-offs on excess inventory. For example, Ramadan has positive effects, such as higher orders for certain products prior to Ramadan, and negative effects, such as logistics and fulfillment constraints due to a limited workforce during Ramadan.
In addition, any negative effects of weak overall demand during those periods are likely to be exacerbated by industry-wide price reductions designed to clear out excess merchandise. Seasonality also makes it difficult for us to accurately forecast demand for our goods and source sufficient volumes of these goods. If we fail to anticipate high demand for our goods and do not meet such demand, we may lose customers and revenue and may be unable to grow our business. Our results of operations have fluctuated and are likely to continue to fluctuate due to these and other factors, some of which are beyond our control. Historically, our rapid growth has masked the seasonality that might otherwise be apparent in our results of operations. We expect that the seasonality in our business may become more pronounced in years when we experience slower growth.
Given that our results may vary from quarter to quarter and year to year, our results of operations for one quarter or year cannot necessarily be compared to another quarter or year and may not be indicative of our future financial performance in subsequent quarters or years. Period to period comparisons of our results of operations may not be meaningful, and you should not rely upon them as an indication of future performance.
Required licenses, permits or approvals may be difficult to obtain in the countries in which we currently operate, and once obtained may be amended or revoked arbitrarily or may not be renewed.
Given our diversified offering of goods and services, we require numerous approvals and licenses from national, regional, and local governmental or regulatory authorities in the countries in which we currently operate. For example, we may be required to obtain licenses to be able to continue offering or expand certain of our payment solutions or other financial services, or our logistics services, and there can be no assurance that we will obtain any such licenses in a timely manner or at all. Even if obtained, licenses are subject to review, interpretation, modification or termination by the relevant authorities.
Additionally, we do not have the licenses necessary to operate as a direct payment service provider in our markets other than Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt. Instead, in those jurisdictions where such licenses are required, we typically seek to
offer our JumiaPay services through agreements with existing licensed banks or payment service providers. If any of these partners were to lose their license, it might prohibit them from continuing to offer services and could inhibit our operations as well. Any unfavorable interpretation or modification of applicable license requirements or any termination of a required license may significantly harm our operations in the relevant country or may require us to close down parts or all of our operations in the relevant country. For example, the new regulatory framework announced by the Central Bank of West African States in 2024, the implementation in 2021 of the Payment Systems and Services Act 2019 in Ghana and the National Payment Systems Act of 2020 implemented in Uganda introduced new licensing requirements applicable to JumiaPay and its partners in certain of our markets.
We can offer no assurance that the relevant authorities will not take any action that could materially and adversely affect these licenses, permits or approvals or our ability to sell goods and provide our services, such as actions to increase license, permit or approval fees or reduce the scope of permitted services. We may experience difficulties in obtaining or maintaining some of these licenses, approvals and permits, which may require us to undertake significant efforts and incur additional expenses. To the extent we operate without a license, we could be subject to fines, criminal prosecution or other legal action including suspension of our operations. Any difficulties in obtaining or maintaining licenses, approvals or permits or the amendment or revocation thereof could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Legal, Regulatory and Tax Risks
Our global operations involve additional risks, and we are subject to or may otherwise face exposure under numerous, complex and sometimes conflicting legal and regulatory regimes.
Our business is subject to numerous laws in different countries, including laws applicable to the e-commerce sector such as laws with respect to privacy, data protection and data security, online content and telecommunications and laws applicable to public companies in general, in particular laws with respect to intellectual property protection, local employment, tax, finance, money laundering, online payment, consumer protection, product liability and the labeling of our goods, competition, anti-corruption and international sanctions. Operating in foreign countries entails an inherent risk of misinterpreting and incorrectly implementing local laws and regulations. In addition, numerous laws and regulations apply to goods on our marketplace. Since we do not manufacture these goods ourselves, our ability to ensure that such goods comply with all applicable regulations is limited. A change in laws and regulations relating to consumer products, products liability or consumer protection in any of the markets in which we operate could require additional investments in order to develop better quality control measures for our platform, increase product safety, or defend against potential products liability litigation.
We cannot guarantee that we have always been in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations in the past, nor that we will be able to fully comply with them in the future. Additionally, we strive to obtain and retain all necessary business licenses, permissions and clearances in each of the countries in which we operate. However, we cannot guarantee that relevant regulators will agree with our position regarding the adequacy of our existing regulatory licenses and permissions or our legal analyses concerning the requirement to obtain clearances, including anti-trust clearances. We take a dynamic approach with respect to compliance with applicable laws and regulations, relying on senior management, our internal legal department and our network of legal advisers in each jurisdiction where we operate to identify and interpret on an ongoing basis the laws and regulations that apply to our business activities. Uncertainties in the legal and regulatory framework may, from time to time, affect our judgment or the legal assessment and opinion of outside legal counsel and lead to incorrect risk-based judgments regarding the relevance of certain legal requirements. Additionally, at times we have failed to delist in a timely manner noncompliant products and sellers due to uncertainty regarding the legality or regulatory compliance of certain products. The violation of any of the laws or regulations applicable to us — including laws and regulations relating to consumer products, product liability or consumer protection — may result in litigation, criminal prosecution, damage claims from customers, business partners and/or competitors or extensive investigations by governmental authorities and substantial fines being imposed on us. Even unfounded allegations of non-compliance may adversely affect our reputation and business.
Any changes in the legal framework applicable to our business could adversely affect our operations and profitability. If we continue to expand our business, we will become subject to new legal frameworks that are even more complex. The laws and regulations of various countries in which we currently operate or may operate in the future are evolving. Consequently, such laws and regulations may change and sometimes may conflict with each other, making it more difficult to observe them.
We are subject to governmental regulation and other legal obligations related to privacy, data protection and information security. If we are unable to comply with these, we may be subject to governmental enforcement actions, litigation, fines and penalties or adverse publicity.
We collect personally identifiable information and other data from our customers and prospective customers. We use this information to provide services and relevant products to our customers, to support, expand and improve our business, and to tailor our marketing and advertising efforts. We may also share customers’ personal data with certain third parties as authorized by the customer or as described in our privacy policy. As a result, we are subject to governmental regulation and other legal obligations related to the protection of personal data, privacy and information security in certain countries where we do business. There has been, and we expect there will continue to be, a significant increase globally in laws that restrict or control the use of personal data.
For example, in Europe the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which came into force in 2018, implemented stringent operational requirements for the use of personal data. These stringent requirements include expanded disclosures to inform customers about the use of personal data, increased controls on profiling customers and increased rights for customers to access, control and delete their personal data. In addition, there are mandatory data breach notification requirements and significant financial penalties for failures to comply. Additionally, the regulatory landscape surrounding data protection, data privacy and information security is rapidly changing across Africa. All countries in which we operate have personal data protection laws. Many of these data protection laws and regulations were only recently enacted and are evolving. In some countries, data protection legislation is not yet fully resourced and operational. Our business collects personal data from users of our websites, customers, sellers, suppliers, contractors and other individuals. Compliance with nascent data protection regulations presents a challenge, particularly where practical guidelines on implementation of new legislation have not yet been issued.
Compliance with the various data protection laws in Africa is challenging due to the complex and sometimes contradictory nature of the different regulatory regimes. Because data protection regulations are not uniform among the various African nations in which we operate, our ability to transmit customer information across borders is limited by our ability to comply with conditions and restrictions that vary from country to country. In countries with particularly strict data protection laws, we might not be able to transmit data out of the country at all and may be required to host individual servers in each such country where we collect data. In many countries relevant laws also require that a company notify customers in the event of a personal data breach.
Moreover, many data protection regimes apply based on where a customer is located, and as we expand and new laws are enacted or existing laws change, we may be subject to new laws, regulations or standards or new interpretations of existing laws, regulations or standards, including those in the areas of data security, data privacy and regulation of email providers and those that require localization of certain data, which could require us to incur additional costs and restrict our business operations.
Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with rapidly evolving privacy or security laws, policies, legal obligations or industry standards or any security incident that results in the unauthorized release or transfer of personally identifiable information or other customer data may result in governmental enforcement actions, litigation (including class actions), criminal prosecution, fines and penalties or adverse publicity and could cause our customers to lose trust in us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may be adversely affected by changes in the regulations applicable to the use of the internet and the e-commerce sector.
As the internet continues to revolutionize commercial relationships on a global scale and online penetration increases, new laws and regulations relating to the use of the internet in general and the e-commerce sector in particular may be adopted. These laws and regulations may govern the collection, use and protection of data, consumer protection, online payments, pricing, anti-bribery, tax, country specific prices and website contents and other aspects relevant to our business. The adoption or modification of laws or regulations relating to our operations could adversely affect our business by increasing compliance costs, including as a result of confidentiality or security breaches in case of non-compliance, and administrative burdens. In particular, privacy related regulation could interfere with our strategy to collect and use personal information as part of our data-driven approach along the value chain. We must comply with applicable regulations in all of the countries in which we operate, and any non-compliance could lead to fines and other sanctions.
Changes to the regulation applicable to the use of the internet and the e-commerce sector could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
The legal and regulatory environment in certain countries in which we operate can be unstable, which may slow economic development.
Our business, and the goods and services we offer, are subject to a variety of legislative and regulatory measures in the countries in which we currently operate. Many of the countries in which we currently operate have a less established legal system than the United States.
Weaknesses in legal systems and legislation in many of these countries create uncertainty for investments and business due to changing requirements that may be costly, incoherent and contradictory, limited budgets for judicial systems, questionable judicial interpretations and/or inadequate regulatory regimes. These risks could have a negative impact on economic conditions in the countries in which we currently operate. These factors could also result in the interruption of certain of our businesses or an increase in operating expenses in the relevant countries. Changes in legislative and regulatory provisions in these countries, which we may not be able to anticipate, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Furthermore, government authorities have a high degree of discretion in many of the markets in which we currently operate, and have sometimes exercised their discretion in ways that may be perceived as selective or arbitrary, or in a manner that could be seen as being influenced by political or commercial considerations. Moreover, many of the governments in the countries in which we currently operate have the power in certain circumstances, by regulation or other government action, to interfere with the performance of contracts or to terminate them or declare them null and void. Governmental actions may include withdrawal of licenses, withholding of permits, criminal prosecutions and civil actions. In some countries, when the economic environment has deteriorated and in order to compensate for the resulting revenue shortages, authorities have imposed new regulations, in particular relating to tax and customs duties, sometimes unexpectedly. There is no guarantee that legislative authorities in the countries in which we currently operate will not pass new laws or regulations or amend existing laws and regulations in a manner that would significantly negatively impact our business model or may even render our business model no longer viable.
The weakness of the legal systems in the emerging countries in which we currently operate could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We do business in certain countries where corruption is considered to be widespread, and we are exposed to the risk of extortion and violation of anti-corruption laws and regulations.
Anti-corruption laws and regulations in force in many countries generally prohibit companies from making direct or indirect payments to civil servants, public officials or members of governments for the purpose of entering into or maintaining business relationships. In addition, we are subject to certain provisions of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (“FCPA”). The FCPA prohibits providing, offering, promising, or authorizing, directly or indirectly, anything of value to government officials, political parties, or political candidates for the purposes of obtaining or retaining business or securing any improper business advantage. We conduct business in, or may expand our business to, certain countries where there is a high risk of corruption and extortion and in some cases, where corruption and extortion are considered to be widespread and where our companies may have to obtain approvals, licenses, permits, or other regulatory approvals from public officials.
Therefore, we are exposed to the risk that our employees, consultants, agents, or other third parties working on our behalf, could make, offer, promise or authorize payments or other benefits in violation of anti-corruption laws and regulations, especially in response to demands or attempts at extortion. We have implemented prevention and training programs as well as internal policies and procedures designed to promote best practices and detect and prevent such violations. However, these prevention and training measures may prove to be insufficient, and our employees, consultants and agents may have been or could be engaged in activities for which we or the relevant officers could be held liable. We can make no assurance that the policies and procedures, even if enhanced, will be followed at all times or effectively detect and prevent all violations of the applicable laws and every instance of fraud, bribery and corruption.
In addition, some anti-corruption laws and regulations, including the FCPA, require that we maintain accurate books and records that reflect the disposition of company assets in reasonable detail, and that we implement appropriate internal controls, to ensure that our operations do not involve corruption, illegal payments or extortion. The great diversity
and complexity of these local laws and regulations and the decentralized nature of our business in various countries and markets create a risk that, in some instances, we may be deemed liable for violations of applicable laws and regulations, in particular, in connection with a failure to comply with those laws and regulations relating to books and records, financial reporting, or internal controls, among others.
Any actual or perceived violation or breach of these anti-corruption laws and regulations, including any potential governmental or internal investigations of perceived or actual misconduct, could affect our overall reputation and, depending on the case, expose us to administrative or judicial proceedings, which could result in criminal and civil judgments, including fines and monetary penalties, a possible prohibition on maintaining business relationships with suppliers or customers in certain countries, and other negative consequences which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may face exposure under certain export controls and trade and economic sanctions laws and regulations that could impair our ability to compete in international markets and subject us to liability for non-compliance.
Our business activities may expose us to various trade and economic sanctions laws and regulations, including, without limitation, OFAC’s trade and economic sanctions programs (“Trade Controls”). In such circumstances, such Trade Controls may prohibit or restrict our ability to, directly or indirectly, conduct activities or dealings in or with certain countries that are the subject of comprehensive embargoes (i.e., sanctioned countries), as well as with individuals or entities that are the target of Trade Controls-related prohibitions and restrictions (i.e., sanctioned parties). Additionally, our sales and services to certain customers may at times trigger reporting requirements under U.S. law.
Although we have implemented controls designed to ensure compliance with applicable Trade Controls, our failure to successfully comply therewith may expose us to negative legal and business consequences, potentially including civil or criminal penalties, government investigations, and financial and reputational harm, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Increased labor costs, compliance with labor laws and regulations and failure to maintain good relations with labor unions may adversely affect our results of operations.
We are required to comply with extensive labor regulations in each of the countries in which we have employees, including with respect to wages, social security benefits and termination payments. If we fail to comply with these regulations we may face labor claims and government fines, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. We use the services of freelancers to promote our offerings. There can be no guarantee that the relationship we have with these freelancers will not be viewed as an employment arrangement, which may lead to an increase in our personnel expenses.
Governments may adopt laws, regulations and other measures requiring companies in the private sector to increase wages and provide specified benefits to employees. For example, although we currently compensate members of our JForce program as independent sales consultants, it is possible that certain jurisdictions may reclassify them as employees, which would require us to change their compensation and benefits structure. We may face pressure from our labor unions or otherwise to increase employee salaries, and we face the risk that other labor-related disputes may arise. Labor disputes that result in strikes or other disruptions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Our risk management and compliance structure may prove inadequate.
We have implemented a group-wide risk management and compliance program that is aimed at preventing corruption, fraud and other criminal or other forms of non-compliance by our management, employees, consultants, agents and sellers. Although we seek to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of this program and the frequency at which we perform systematic compliance checks, given the broad scope of our operations and, in particular, the fact that corruption and extortion are common in some countries in which we currently operate or in which we have operated in the past, such controls may prove to be insufficient to prevent or detect non-compliant conduct. Additionally, certain employees, consultants, agents or sellers may engage in illegal practices or corruption to win business or to conspire in order to circumvent our compliance controls. Similarly, we may fail to identify, mitigate or manage relevant risk exposures. For example, we have identified failures of our internal controls in the past, including fraudulent behavior by our independent JForce agents, employees and sellers, improper orders placed by employees and JForce agents and an allegation of fraudulent local management behavior in contravention of company policy with respect to cash management. While we
have implemented improvements to, and routinely monitor, our internal controls at a country and group level, we cannot be sure that such internal control procedures will prove effective or that our policies will be followed.
Non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations may harm our reputation and ability to compete and result in legal action, criminal and civil sanctions, or administrative fines and penalties, such as a loss of business licenses or permits, against us, members of our governing bodies and our employees. They may also result in damage claims by third parties or other adverse effects, including class action lawsuits or enforcement actions by national and international regulators resulting in limitations to our business).
Any failure of our compliance structure to prevent or detect non-compliant behavior could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property against infringements from third parties.
We believe that our intellectual property, including our copyrights, brands, trademarks, trade secrets and proprietary technology, is critical to our success. We have developed, and will continue to develop, a substantial quantity of proprietary software, processes and other know-how, including assortment related know-how, that are especially important to our operations. However, we may not be able to obtain effective protection for such intellectual property or other proprietary know-how in all relevant countries. If the laws and regulations applicable to our intellectual property change, this may make it even more difficult to effectively protect such intellectual property.
In addition, we may be required to spend significant funds on monitoring and protecting our intellectual property and there is no guarantee that we can successfully discover all infringements, misappropriations or other violations of our intellectual property and pursue them successfully. We provide certain information to third-party service providers who help us assess the performance of our business, such as Google Analytics. Consequently, we only have limited control to ensure that such information is not misused by the relevant third-party service providers or passed on to other third parties, including our competitors.
If we initiate litigation against infringements of our intellectual property, such litigation may prove costly and there is no guarantee that it will ultimately be successful and that the rulings we obtain will adequately remedy the damage we have suffered. Where we rely on contractual agreements to protect our intellectual property, such agreements may be found to be invalid or unenforceable. Furthermore, some of our intellectual property could be challenged or found invalid through administrative processes or litigation, and third parties may independently develop or otherwise acquire equivalent intellectual property.
An inability to adequately protect our intellectual property could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may be accused of infringing on the intellectual property of third parties.
As we utilize a variety of intellectual property for our business, customers, regulatory authorities or other third parties may allege that intellectual property we use infringes on their intellectual property, and we may therefore become subject to allegations and litigation. Even unfounded allegations of infringement may adversely affect our reputation and business and may require significant resources to defend against. If we try to obtain licenses from such third parties to settle any disputes, there is no guarantee that such licenses will be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all, in which case we may be required to alter our brands or change the way we currently operate.
In addition, we may not be able to continue to market certain goods in instances where our suppliers manufacture these goods without regard for the intellectual property rights of third parties. Furthermore, some of the agreements we entered into with third parties may contain clauses regarding the protection of their intellectual property licensed to us. A violation of these clauses, such as the unauthorized sub licensing or disclosure of a confidential source code, may require us to pay significant penalties, prevent us from utilizing such intellectual property in the future and may result in litigation against us. Moreover, some of our proprietary technology was developed on the basis of licensed proprietary and non-proprietary software that we licensed from third parties. If these licenses were to be challenged or found invalid through litigation or other proceedings, we may be unable to continue utilizing such proprietary technology.
Any infringements on the intellectual property of third parties could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may be unable to acquire, utilize and maintain our domains and trademarks.
We have registered various word and figurative trademarks as well as internet domains and may register additional similar rights in the future. These rights are regulated by the relevant regulatory bodies and subject to trademark laws and other related laws in the countries in which we have registered them.
If we cannot obtain or maintain our existing or future word and figurative trademarks as well as internet domains on reasonable terms, we may be forced to incur significant additional expenses or be unable to operate our business as intended. Furthermore, the regulations governing domain names and laws protecting trademarks and similar proprietary rights could change (e.g., through the establishment of additional generic or country code top level domains or changes in registration processes), which may prevent us from using these rights as intended. In addition, we may not be able to prevent third parties from registering and utilizing domains and trademarks that interfere with those that we have registered.
An inability to maintain our domains and trademarks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may be involved in litigation or other proceedings that could adversely affect our business.
In the ordinary course of our business activities, we are regularly exposed to various litigation, particularly in the areas of product warranty, delays of payments or deliveries, competition law, intellectual property disputes, labor disputes and tax matters. Such litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties, and unfavorable rulings could require us to pay monetary damages or provide for an injunction prohibiting us from performing a critical activity, such as marketing certain goods. Even if legal claims brought against us are without merit, defending against such claims could be time-consuming and expensive and could divert management’s attention from other business concerns. Additionally, we may decide to settle such claims, which could prove expensive to us.
If we become involved in litigation or other proceedings, this could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We use standardized documents, contracts and terms and conditions, compounding the negative impact on our business if any clause is held to be void.
We use standardized documents, contracts and terms and conditions to govern our relationships with a large number of sellers and customers. If such documents, contracts or terms and conditions are found to contain provisions that are interpreted in a manner disadvantageous to us, or if any clauses are held to be void and thereby replaced by statutory provisions that are disadvantageous to us, a large number of our contractual relationships could be affected.
In addition, standardized terms and conditions must comply with the statutory laws on general terms and conditions in the various countries in which we currently operate, which means that in many countries such standardized terms and conditions are subject to intense scrutiny by the courts or relevant authorities. We cannot guarantee that all standardized terms and conditions we use currently comply and will continue to comply with the relevant requirements. Even if terms and conditions are prepared with legal advice, it is impossible for us to guarantee that they are valid, given that changes may continue to occur in the laws applicable to such terms and conditions and/or their interpretation by the courts.
If clauses in our standardized documents, contracts or terms and conditions are found to be void, this could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We are subject to customs and foreign trade regulations that may require us to modify our current business practices and incur increased costs or could result in a delay in processing goods through customs, which may limit our growth and cause us to suffer reputational damage.
We import a large number of goods and services as part of our day-to-day business and such imports and exports may be subject to customs or foreign trade regulations. In addition, we rely on third parties, in particular our sellers, to make certain import, export or customs declarations and we therefore only have limited control over such declarations. Any non-compliance with customs or foreign trade regulations could lead to the imposition of fines or result in our goods being seized, in which case delivery of our goods may be delayed or fail entirely. If these laws or regulations were to change or
were violated by our management, employees, sellers or other agents, we could experience delays in shipments of our goods, be subject to fines or penalties, or suffer reputational harm, which could reduce demand for our services and negatively impact our results of operations.
Legal requirements are frequently changed and subject to interpretation, and we are unable to predict the ultimate cost of compliance with these requirements or their effects on our operations. We may be required to make significant expenditures or modify our business practices to comply with existing or future laws and regulations, which may increase our costs and materially limit our ability to operate our business.
Our business depends on our ability to source and distribute goods in a timely manner. As a result, we rely on the free flow of goods through open and operational ports worldwide. Labor disputes or other disruptions at ports or along key shipping routes create significant risks for our business, particularly if work slowdowns, lockouts, strikes, acts of terrorism or other disruptions occur. Any of these factors could result in reduced sales or cancelled orders, which may limit our growth and damage our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Our business is subject to the general tax environment in the countries in which we currently operate, and any changes to this tax environment may increase our tax burden.
Our business is subject to the general tax environment in the countries in which we currently operate. Our ability to use tax loss carryforwards and other favorable tax provisions depends on national tax laws and their interpretation in these countries. Changes in tax legislation, administrative practices or case law could increase our tax burden and such changes might even occur retroactively. Furthermore, tax laws may be interpreted differently by the competent tax authorities and courts, and their interpretation may change at any time, which could lead to an increase of our tax burden. For example, in a number of countries, tax authorities seek to characterize income from the provision of services as royalties under their domestic legislation and/or tax treaties, which would lead to the imposition of withholding tax and may significantly increase our tax burden. In addition, legislators and tax authorities have changed or may change territoriality rules or their interpretation for the application of value-added tax (“VAT”) on cross border services, which could lead to significant additional payments for past and future periods. In addition, court decisions are sometimes ignored by competent tax authorities or overruled by higher courts, which could lead to higher legal and tax advisory costs and create significant uncertainty.
Tax authorities in various countries are currently reviewing the appropriate treatment of e-commerce activities. Recently, several countries in Africa have imposed new, or increased existing, taxes on e-commerce and mobile services. For example, from 2018 to 2021, Uganda imposed a daily tax of 200 Uganda shillings (equivalent to $0.05) on Over-the-Top (“OTT”) services including Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. Users who failed to make this daily payment were unable to access the designated OTT services. This OTT daily tax was repealed and replaced in 2021 by a 12% levy on mobile internet services. In addition, mobile money transfer tax applies in Uganda on money transfer fees and a 0.5% tax is charged on withdrawals. The Ivory Coast imposed a similar 7.2% tax on mobile money transfer fees as from 2019 onwards. Similarly, Kenya has been taxing mobile money transfer fees as well as internet access services for several years up to 20% until being reduced to 15% in 2023. In Ghana, an electronic transfer tax of 1.5% was introduced in 2022, before being reduced to 1% in 2023. In Algeria, a bank domiciliation tax of 5% would apply on outflow of foreign currency. It is possible that other African countries will enact new taxes on OTT services, mobile money transfers or other e-commerce and mobile services or that countries with existing e-commerce and mobile service taxes will raise their current tax rates. Existing or new e-commerce and mobile service taxes may increase the cost of mobile phone usage and data plans for customers, which may discourage mobile phone usage or slow the rate of mobile phone adoption across our markets. Additionally, taxes on mobile money transfers may increase the costs associated with and discourage the use of JumiaPay.
Moreover, due to the global nature of our e-commerce business, various countries might attempt to levy additional sales, income or other taxes relating to our activities. Such new tax regulation may subject us or our customers to additional taxes, which would increase our tax burden and may reduce the attractiveness of our online offering. For instance, in Kenya, the Tax Laws Amendment Act 2024 introduce a withholding obligation on payments made or facilitated by owners or operators of digital marketplaces or platforms in respect of digital content monetization, property or services. The withholding is 5% on payments to residents and 20% on payments to non-residents. In certain countries in which we operate, VAT rates are especially high. For example, the VAT is 20% in Morocco and 18% in Ivory Coast. In such countries, we face the risk that organizational sellers on our marketplace may attempt to transact as individual sellers in order to avoid the responsibility of collecting VAT. Sellers may also seek to structure their operations in a way that
facilitates the non-payment of VAT. New taxes could also result in additional costs necessary to collect the data required to assess these taxes and to remit them to the relevant tax authorities.
In some of the countries in which we currently operate, tax authorities may also use the tax system to advance their agenda and may exercise their discretion in ways that may be perceived as selective or arbitrary, or in a manner that could be seen as being influenced by political or commercial considerations. Accordingly, we may face unfounded tax claims in such countries.
We are subject to audits by tax officials in various jurisdictions in which we operate. For example, in Germany, the authorities challenged the status of some of the Group’s German partnerships as entrepreneurs. A loss of such entrepreneur status would have resulted in substantial additional VAT assessments. We have reached a joint understanding with the competent tax authorities, according to which the German partnerships in question should be regarded as entrepreneurs, provided certain conditions are met. We cannot guarantee that the tax authorities will not change their view on the status of such partnerships for past or future periods. While we are making good progress toward meeting these conditions, any failure to meet them in a timely manner, or any changes in the tax authorities’ view, may result in substantial additional VAT assessments.
We are also in ongoing discussions with the German authorities regarding corporate income tax treatment of services rendered by these partnerships. While we believe the position of the German tax authorities on this issue is not correct and would not be successful if challenged in court, we may be required to pay additional corporate income taxes in an upper single to very low double digit euro million amount if the tax authorities’ view were to prevail and have taken provisions accordingly. See also Note 30 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
Taxes actually assessed in future tax audits for periods not yet covered by this last tax audit may exceed the taxes already paid by us. As a result, we may be required to make significant additional tax payments with respect to previous periods. Furthermore, the competent tax authorities could revise their original tax assessments (e.g., with respect to the recognition of invoiced value-added taxes). Any tax assessments that deviate from our expectations could lead to an increase in our tax burden. In addition, we may be required to pay interest on these additional taxes as well as late filing penalties.
Changes in the tax environment and future tax audits could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Certain of our cross-border business dealings may trigger unforeseen adverse tax consequences.
We are an internationally operating enterprise continuously engaged in cross-border business dealings which may trigger unforeseen adverse tax consequences in Germany and abroad, in particular with respect to transfer pricing and double taxation issues. While our business operations focus on three regions in Africa, our Company is incorporated in Germany and we manage our operations on a decentralized basis. Our technology and data team is predominantly located in Portugal and Egypt. The decentralized nature of our organization may lead to interpretative questions by tax authorities as to where we have to pay taxes on our income or assets. Any reassessment of our current status could lead to substantial tax claims and/or costly and time consuming administrative and legal proceedings.
This high degree of interconnectivity necessitates the cross-border transfer of certain goods and services including services, from and between us, our subsidiaries and affiliates. Tax authorities often challenge the prices charged for intra-group services. Past and current intra-group transfer prices, particularly those for services rendered by the Company, including the provision of technology, management services, personnel or financing could be deemed to not be at arm’s length.
Additionally, in light of the fact that these intra-group services are usually not offered to third parties, it may become difficult for us to mitigate intra-group transfer price risks by documenting the prices, particularly paid in comparable transactions by or with independent third parties. The preparation of customary transfer price documentation may also be delayed due to the need to hire an external advisory team with the resources to prepare such transfer price documentation for us.
In addition, we may be unaware of or infringe upon tariffs, quotas, customs and export control regulations, trading bans or similar restrictions, thereby creating exposure to the risk of fines and sanctions.
The materialization of any of the risks described above could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We are subject to tax laws and regulations in Germany and numerous other countries. Our tax burden may increase as a consequence of future tax treatment of dividend payments, non-deductibility of interest payments, current or future tax assessments or court proceedings based on changes in domestic or foreign tax laws and double taxation treaties or changes in the application or interpretation thereof.
We are a German tax resident and, accordingly, subject to the tax laws and regulations of Germany. We operate in a number of African countries and have shared service centers in certain European countries as well as in the United Arab Emirates, subjecting several of our entities to the tax laws of these countries. Our tax burden depends on various aspects of tax laws and regulations including double taxation treaties as well as their respective application and interpretation. Amendments to tax laws and double taxation treaties, for example, an increase of statutory tax rates or the limitation of double tax relief, may have a retroactive effect, and their application or interpretation by tax authorities or courts is subject to change and may cause an increase in our tax burden. Furthermore, tax authorities occasionally limit court decisions to their specific facts by way of non-application decrees. This may also increase our tax burden.
Prior to the completion of our initial public offering in April 2019, we streamlined our group structure by exchanging interests held by current or former members of management, employees, supporters or business partners in our subsidiaries into shares of the Company. While we do not believe that these transactions triggered adverse tax consequences for which we are liable, there is no guarantee that tax authorities will agree with this assessment.
As a holding company, our ability to distribute dividends depends largely on dividend payments made by our subsidiaries. Among other things, these intra-group distributions are subject to withholding tax (Kapitalertragsteuer) on multiple intra-group levels. No assurance can be given that the taxation of intra-group distributions may not negatively affect our ability to pay dividends in the future.
Thin-capitalization rules in various countries restrict the tax deductibility of interest expenses and the possibility of companies to carry forward non-deducted interest expenses to future assessment periods. As the interpretation of these rules is not entirely clear in many countries, it cannot be ruled out that the competent tax authorities will take a different view regarding the tax deductibility of interest expenses than our entities.
Our entities are or may become party to tax proceedings. The outcome of such tax proceedings may not be predictable and may be detrimental to us.
The materialization of any of the risks described above could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Economic challenges faced by governments may lead to an increase in our tax burden.
Governments may seek to find additional financing. Accordingly, governments may seek to impose additional tax burdens on us. For example, tax authorities may state that platform owners are responsible to account for and pay VAT or sales tax for the goods and services traded via their platform. Jumia is currently engaged in active discussions with the tax authorities in several countries regarding VAT or sales tax collection for the goods and services traded via its platform. There is no guarantee that the authorities will maintain the position that we are not responsible to account for and pay VAT for the goods and services traded via our marketplace for the prior periods. New regulations have been adopted in several African countries about e-invoicing and/or non-resident VAT obligations which has increased our cost of tax compliance and may lead to an increase of our overall tax burden.
Risks Related to the Ownership of our ADSs
Investor perceptions of risks in emerging economies could reduce investor appetite for investments in these countries or for the securities of issuers operating in these countries.
Investing in securities of issuers in emerging markets generally involves a higher degree of risk than investing in securities of corporate or sovereign issuers from more developed countries. Economic crises in one or more emerging market countries may reduce overall investor appetite for securities of emerging market issuers generally, even for emerging market issuers located outside the regions directly affected by the crises. Past economic crises in emerging
markets, such as in South America and Russia, have often resulted in significant outflows of international capital from emerging markets and caused emerging market issuers to face higher costs for raising funds, and in some cases have effectively impeded access to international capital markets for extended periods.
Thus, even if the economies of the countries in which we operate remain relatively stable, financial turmoil in any emerging market country could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
The market price of our ADSs has fluctuated significantly in the past and may continue to do so in the future and any such fluctuations could result in substantial losses for holders of our ADSs.
The market price of our ADSs is affected by the supply and demand for our ADSs, which may be influenced by numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, including:
•fluctuation in actual or projected results of operations;
•changes in projected earnings or failure to meet securities analysts’ earnings expectations;
•changes in or the absence of analyst coverage;
•positive or negative analyst recommendations;
•changes in trading volumes in our ADSs;
•changes in our shareholder structure;
•changes in macroeconomic conditions including changes in foreign exchange rates and periods of inflation;
•the activities of competitors and sellers;
•changes in the market valuations of comparable companies;
•changes in investor and analyst perception with respect to our business or the e-commerce industry in general; and
•changes in the statutory framework applicable to our business.
As a result, the market price of our ADSs may be subject to substantial fluctuation.
General market conditions and fluctuation of share prices and trading volumes could lead to pressure on the market price of our ADSs, even if there may not be a reason for this based on our business performance or earnings outlook. In addition, prices for e-commerce or technology companies have traditionally been more volatile compared to share prices for companies from other industries. The market price of our ADSs has fluctuated substantially in the past. The market prices of our ADSs may continue to fluctuate substantially in the future.
Any fluctuations in the market price of our ADSs as a result of the realization of any of these risks, investors could lose part or all of their investment in our ADSs. Additionally, in the past, when the market price of a stock has been volatile, holders of that stock have sometimes instituted securities class action litigation against the company that issued the shares. These lawsuits may result in substantial expenses and could also divert the time and attention of our management board from our business, which could significantly harm our profitability and reputation.
We do not expect to pay any dividends in the foreseeable future.
We have not yet paid any dividends to our shareholders and do not currently intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future. Under German corporate law, dividends may only be distributed from our net retained profit (Bilanzgewinn). The net retained profit is calculated based on our unconsolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with German generally accepted accounting principles of the German Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch). Such accounting principles differ from International Financial Reporting Standards, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, in material respects.
Our ability to pay dividends therefore depends upon the availability of sufficient net retained profits. In addition, future financing arrangements may contain covenants that impose restrictions on our business and on our ability to pay dividends under certain circumstances.
Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our management board and will depend upon our results of operations, financial condition, contractual restrictions, including restrictions imposed by existing or future financing agreements, restrictions imposed by applicable laws and other factors management deems relevant.
Consequently, we may not pay dividends in the foreseeable future, or at all, and any return on investment in our ADSs is solely dependent upon the appreciation of the price of our ADSs on the open market, which may not occur. See “Dividend Policy.”
If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls over financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately report our results of operations, meet our reporting obligations or prevent fraud.
Since our initial public offering in 2019, we have been a public company in the United States subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we include a report from management on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in our annual report on Form 20-F. As a result, we are required to disclose changes made in our internal controls and procedures and our management is required to assess the effectiveness of these controls annually. In addition, our independent registered public accounting firm must attest to and report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Our reporting obligations may place a significant strain on our management, operational and financial resources and systems for the foreseeable future.
During the course of documenting and testing our internal control procedures in the future, we may identify weaknesses and deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, if we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, as these standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, we may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. For example, our management, including our chief executive officer and executive vice president, finance & operations, concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2023 due to the presence of a material weakness. If we fail to maintain an effective internal control environment, we could suffer material misstatements in our financial statements and fail to meet our reporting obligations, which would likely cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. This could, in turn, limit our access to capital markets, harm our results of operations, and lead to a decline in the trading price of the ADSs. Additionally, ineffective internal control over financial reporting could expose us to increased risk of fraud or misuse of corporate assets and subject us to potential delisting from the New York Stock Exchange, regulatory investigations and civil or criminal sanctions. We may also be required to restate our financial statements for prior periods.
Future offerings of debt or equity securities by us could adversely affect the market price of our ADSs, and future issuances of equity securities could lead to a substantial dilution of our shareholders.
We may require additional capital in the future to finance our business operations and growth. The Company may seek to raise such capital through the issuance of additional ADSs or debt securities with conversion rights (e.g., convertible bonds and option rights). An issuance of additional ADSs or debt securities with conversion rights could potentially reduce the market price of our ADSs and the Company currently cannot predict the amounts and terms of such future offerings.
If such offerings of equity or debt securities with conversion rights are made without granting subscription rights to our existing shareholders, these offerings would dilute the economic and voting rights of our existing shareholders. In addition, such dilution may arise from the acquisition or investments in companies in exchange, fully or in part, for newly issued ADSs, options granted to our business partners or from the exercise of stock options by our employees in the context of existing or future stock option programs or the issuance of ADSs to employees in the context of existing or future employee participation programs.
Any future issuance of ADSs could reduce the market price of our ADSs and dilute the holdings of existing shareholders.
The sale or availability for sale of substantial amounts of the ADSs could adversely affect their market price.
Sales of substantial amounts of the ADSs in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of the ADSs and could materially impair our ability to raise capital through equity offerings in the future. We cannot predict what effect, if any, market sales of securities held by our shareholders or the availability of these securities for future sale will have on the market price of the ADSs.
An investment in our ADSs by an investor whose principal currency is not the US dollar may be affected by exchange rate fluctuation.
Our ADSs are, and any dividends to be paid in respect of them will be, denominated in US dollars. An investment in our ADSs by an investor whose principal currency is not the US dollar will expose such investor to exchange rate risks. Any depreciation of the US dollar in relation to the principal currency of the respective investor will reduce the value of the investment in our ADSs or any dividends in relation to such currency.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price for our ADSs and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our ADSs depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If securities or industry analyst coverage results in downgrades of our ADSs or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our ADS price will likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets and demand for our ADSs could decrease, which, in turn, could cause the market price or trading volume for our ADSs to decline significantly.
Investors may have difficulty enforcing civil liabilities against us or the members of our management and supervisory boards.
We are incorporated in Germany and conduct substantially all of our operations in Africa through our subsidiaries. In total, four members of our management board and supervisory board are non-residents of the United States. The majority of our assets and the assets of half of the members of our management board and supervisory board are located outside the United States. As a result, it may not be possible, or may be very difficult, to serve process on company representatives or the company in the United States, or to enforce judgments obtained in U.S. courts against company representatives or the company based on civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States.
There is no treaty between the United States and Germany for the mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments (other than arbitration awards) in civil and commercial matters. Therefore, a final judgment for the payment of money rendered by any federal or state court in the United States based on civil liability, whether or not predicated solely upon the U.S. federal securities laws, would not be enforceable in Germany unless the underlying claim is re-litigated before a German court of competent jurisdiction.
Based on the foregoing, there can be no assurance that U.S. investors will be able to enforce any judgments obtained in U.S. courts in civil and commercial matters, including judgments under the U.S. federal securities laws, against us, members of our management board and supervisory board, or our senior management. In addition, there is doubt as to whether a German court would impose civil liability on us, the members of our management and supervisory board or our senior management in an original action predicated solely upon the U.S. federal securities laws brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in Germany against us or such members, respectively.
Holders of our ADSs may be subject to limitations on transfer of their ADSs.
Our ADSs are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its transfer books at any time or from time to time when it deems expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. In addition, the depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of ADSs generally when our books or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary deems it advisable to do so because of any requirement of law or of any government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason.
The exercise of voting rights of holders of our ADSs is limited by the terms of the deposit agreement.
For so long as holders of our ADSs do not convert their ADSs into ordinary shares, they may not attend our shareholder’s meetings and may exercise their voting rights with respect to the ordinary shares underlying their ADSs only in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Upon receipt of voting instructions from a holder of our ADSs in the manner set forth in the deposit agreement, the depositary for our ADSs will endeavor to vote such holder’s underlying ordinary shares in accordance with these instructions. Under our articles of association, the minimum notice period required for convening a shareholders’ meeting corresponds to the statutory minimum period, which is currently 36 days. When a shareholders’ meeting is convened, a holder of our ADSs may not receive sufficient notice of a shareholders’ meeting to permit such holder to withdraw its ordinary shares to allow the holder to cast its vote with respect to any specific matter at the meeting. In addition, the depositary and its agents may not be able to send voting instructions to a holder of our ADSs or carry out such holder’s voting instructions in a timely manner. We will make all reasonable efforts to cause the depositary to extend voting rights to a holder of our ADSs in a timely manner, but such holder may not receive the voting materials in time to ensure that such holder can instruct the depositary to vote its shares. Furthermore, the depositary and its agents will not be responsible for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote, for the manner in which any vote is cast or for the effect of any such vote. As a result, a holder of our ADSs may not be able to exercise its right to vote and may lack recourse if the ordinary shares are not voted as requested by such holder.
The rights of shareholders in companies subject to German corporate law differ in material respects from the rights of shareholders of corporations incorporated in the United States.
We are a stock corporation (Aktiengesellschaft) incorporated under German law. Our corporate affairs are governed by our articles of association and by the laws governing stock corporations incorporated in Germany. The rights of shareholders and the responsibilities of members of our management board and supervisory board may be different from the rights and obligations of shareholders in companies governed by the laws of U.S. jurisdictions and the management or directors of those corporations. In the performance of their duties, our management board and supervisory board are required by German law to consider the interests of our company, its shareholders, its employees and other stakeholders. It is possible that some of these parties will have interests that are different from, or in addition to, your interests as an ADS holder.
German and European insolvency laws are substantially different from U.S. insolvency laws and may offer our shareholders less protection than they would have under U.S. insolvency laws.
As a company with its registered office in Germany, we are subject to German insolvency laws in the event any insolvency proceedings are initiated against us including, among other things, Regulation (EU) 2015/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of May 20, 2015 on insolvency proceedings. Should courts in another European country determine that the insolvency laws of that country apply to us in accordance with and subject to such EU regulations, the courts in that country could have jurisdiction over the insolvency proceedings initiated against us. Insolvency laws in Germany or the relevant other European country, if any, may offer our shareholders less protection than they would have under U.S. insolvency laws and make it more difficult for our shareholders to recover the amount they could expect to recover in a liquidation under U.S. insolvency laws.
As a foreign private issuer, we are not subject to U.S. proxy rules and are subject to Exchange Act reporting obligations that, to some extent, are more lenient and less frequent than those of a U.S. domestic public company.
As of the date of this Annual Report, we report under the Exchange Act as a non-U.S. company with foreign private issuer status. Because we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act and although we are subject to German laws and regulations with regard to such matters and intend to furnish quarterly performance updates and half year interim reports to the SEC, we are exempt from certain provisions of the Exchange Act that are applicable to U.S. domestic public companies, including (1) the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act, (2) the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their share ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time and (3) the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q containing unaudited financial and other specified information, although we intend to provide certain quarterly information on Form 6-K. In addition, foreign private issuers are not required to file their annual report on Form 20-F until 120 days after the end of each fiscal year, while U.S. domestic issuers that are accelerated filers are required to file their annual report on Form 10-K within 75 days after the end of each fiscal year and U.S. domestic issuers that are
large accelerated filers are required to file their annual report on Form 10-K within 60 days after the end of each fiscal year. Foreign private issuers are also exempt from Regulation FD, which is intended to prevent issuers from making selective disclosures of material information. As a result of all of the above, holders of our ADSs may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of a company that is not a foreign private issuer.
We may lose our foreign private issuer status in the future, which could result in significant additional costs and expenses.
As discussed above, we are a foreign private issuer, and therefore, we are not required to comply with all of the periodic disclosure and current reporting requirements of the Exchange Act. The determination of foreign private issuer status is made annually on the last business day of an issuer’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, and, accordingly, the next determination will be made with respect to us on June 30, 2025.
In the future, we would lose our foreign private issuer status if (1) more than 50% of our outstanding voting securities are owned by U.S. residents and (2) a majority of our directors or executive officers are U.S. citizens or residents, or we fail to meet additional requirements necessary to avoid loss of foreign private issuer status. If we lose our foreign private issuer status, we will be required to file with the SEC periodic reports and registration statements on U.S. domestic issuer forms, which are more detailed and extensive than the forms available to a foreign private issuer. We will also have to mandatorily comply with U.S. federal proxy requirements, and our officers, directors and principal shareholders will become subject to the short-swing profit disclosure and recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we will lose our ability to rely upon exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements under the listing rules of the NYSE. As a U.S. listed public company that is not a foreign private issuer, we would incur significant additional legal, accounting and other expenses that we would not incur as a foreign private issuer. These expenses would relate to, among other things, the obligation to present our financial information in accordance with U.S. GAAP in the future. Additionally, a loss of our foreign private issuer status would divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
As we are a foreign private issuer and follow certain home country corporate governance practices, holders of our ADSs may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all NYSE corporate governance requirements.
As a foreign private issuer, we have the option to follow certain home country corporate governance practices rather than those of the NYSE, provided that we disclose the requirements we are not following and describe the home country practices we are following. The standards applicable to us are considerably different than the standards applied to domestic U.S. issuers. For instance, we are not required to:
•have a majority of the board be independent (although all of the members of the audit committee must be independent under the Exchange Act);
•have a compensation committee or a nominating or corporate governance committee consisting entirely of independent directors;
•have regularly scheduled executive sessions with only independent directors; or
•adopt and disclose a code of ethics for directors, officers and employees.
We have relied on and intend to continue to rely on some of these exemptions. As a result, holders of our ADSs may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all NYSE corporate governance requirements.
The interpretation of the treatment of ADSs by the German tax authorities is subject to change.
The specific treatment of ADSs under German tax law is based on administrative provisions by the fiscal authorities, which are not codified law and are subject to change. Tax authorities may modify their interpretation and the current treatment of ADSs may change, as the circular issued by the German Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF-Schreiben), dated November 8, 2017, reference number IV C 1 – S 1980-1/16/10010 :010 (as amended), shows. According to this circular, ADSs are not treated as capital participation (Kapitalbeteiligung) within the meaning of Section 2 para. 8 of
the Investment Tax Code (Investmentsteuergesetz). Such changes in the interpretation by the fiscal authorities may have adverse effects on the taxation of investors.
We may become a passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”), which could result in adverse United States federal income tax consequences to United States investors.
We believe we were not a PFIC in the prior taxable year and do not expect to become a PFIC in the current taxable year or the foreseeable future. However, the determination of whether or not we are a PFIC is made on an annual basis and will depend on the composition of our income and assets from time to time. Specifically, we will be classified as a PFIC for United States federal income tax purposes if either: (1) 75% or more of our gross income in a taxable year is passive income, or (2) the average percentage of our assets by value in a taxable year which produce or are held for the production of passive income (which includes cash) is at least 50%. It is therefore possible that we could become a PFIC in a future taxable year. In addition, our current expectation regarding our PFIC status is based in part upon the value of our goodwill which is based on the market value for our shares and ADSs, and in part on the rate at which our cash and cash equivalents are spent. Accordingly, we could become a PFIC in the future if there is a substantial decline in the value of our shares and ADSs or we spend our cash or cash equivalents at a slower rate than expected.
If we are or were to become a PFIC, such characterization could result in adverse United States federal income tax consequences to a holder of our ADSs if such holder is a United States investor. For example, if we are a PFIC, our United States investors will become subject to increased tax liabilities under United States federal income tax laws and regulations and will become subject to burdensome reporting requirements. We cannot assure that we will not be a PFIC for our current taxable year or any future taxable year.
Item 4. Information on the Company
A. History and Development of the Company
Corporate History and Recent Transactions
We were incorporated on June 26, 2012 as a limited liability company (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung) under German law. On December 17 and 18, 2018, our shareholders resolved upon the change of our legal form into a German stock corporation (Aktiengesellschaft) and the change of our company name to Jumia Technologies AG. The change of our legal form and company name became effective upon registration with the commercial register (Handelsregister) of the local court (Amtsgericht) in Berlin, Germany, on January 31, 2019. The legal effect of the conversion on Africa Internet Holding GmbH under German law is limited to the change in the legal form. Africa Internet Holding GmbH was neither dissolved nor wound up, but continues its existence as the same legal entity with a new legal form and name. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Puglisi & Associates, 850 Library Avenue, Suite 204, Newark, Delaware 19711.
On April 12, 2019, our ADSs, each representing two of our ordinary shares, commenced trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “JMIA.” Concurrently with our initial public offering, Mastercard purchased from us €50.0 million of our ordinary shares in a private placement. We received $280.2 million in net proceeds from our initial public offering and corresponding private placement with Mastercard and issuance of shares to existing shareholders, after deducting underwriting commissions and discounts and the offering expenses payable by us.
In December 2020, we completed an equity offering. We received $231.4 million in net proceeds from our equity offering, after deducting underwriting commissions and discounts and the offering expenses, payable by us. In March 2021, we completed a second equity offering. We received $341.0 million in net proceeds from this second equity offering, after deducting underwriting commissions and discounts and the offering expenses, payable by us. In August 2024, we completed another equity offering. We received $94.7 million in net proceeds from this equity offering, after deducting underwriting commissions and discounts and the offering expenses, payable by us. As appropriate opportunities present themselves, we have pursued and, in the future, we intend to continue to pursue additional dispositions and other strategic growth opportunities and initiatives that we believe are strategic and will be accretive to earnings.
From 2012 to 2023, we operated a food delivery business called Jumia Food in most of our markets. Following a strategic review of our business, we determined that our food delivery business is not suitable to the current operating environment and macroeconomic conditions in our markets, and closed our food delivery business in all markets by the end of December 2023.
In late 2024, we decided to exit two geographies, Tunisia and South Africa with a view to allocating our resources to the geographies that we currently believe present the best opportunities to support our long-term growth and path to profitability. We intend to continue to invest across our nine geographies of operation, which, according to the United Nations and IMF, in 2024, collectively represent more than 625 million people and 54% of Africa’s internet users and 49% of Africa's GDP.
Corporate Information
We are registered with the commercial register (Handelsregister) of the local court (Amtsgericht) in Berlin, Germany, under number HRB 203542 B. Our principal executive offices are located at Skalitzer Straße 104, 10997 Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany (“Germany”). Our telephone number is +49 (30) 398 20 34 54.
The SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers, such as us, that file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov. Our website address is https://group.jumia.com. The information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report, and you should not consider any information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website as part of this Annual Report or in deciding whether to purchase our ADSs.
B. Business Overview
Our Mission
Our mission is to improve the quality of everyday life in Africa by leveraging technology to deliver innovative, convenient and affordable online services to customers, while helping businesses grow as they use our platform to reach and serve customers.
Overview
We are the leading pan-African e-commerce platform. Our platform consists of our marketplace, which connects sellers with customers, our logistics service, which enables the shipment and delivery of packages from sellers to customers, and our payment service, JumiaPay, which, together with its network of licensed payment service providers and other partners, facilitates transactions among participants active on our platform in selected markets.
We are active in nine countries in Africa that together accounted for approximately 49% of Africa’s GDP of $2.8 trillion in 2024, according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund. Though still nascent, we believe that e-commerce in Africa is well positioned to grow.
We intend to benefit from the expected growth of e-commerce in Africa through the investments that we have made and the extensive local expertise that we have developed since our founding in 2012. Through our operations, we have developed a deep understanding of the economic, technical, geographic and cultural complexities that are unique to Africa, and which vary from country to country. We believe that our deep understanding has enabled us to create solutions that address the needs and preferences of our sellers and customers in the most comprehensive and efficient way. We possess extensive local knowledge of the logistics and payment landscapes in the markets in which we operate, which we consider to be a key component of the success of our company. In addition, we take full advantage of the multi-channel aspects of the African market, having for example adopted a “mobile-first” approach in our product development while exploring highly-localized offline marketing channels, which allows us to expand the audience for our goods and services, increase engagement and conversion and reduce our customer acquisition costs.
On our marketplace, a large and diverse group of approximately 70 thousand sellers offer goods across a wide range of categories, such as phones, electronics, home & living, fashion, beauty and other including fast-moving consumer goods, to customers (i.e., consumers, retailers, distributors and other local buyers). A diverse and competitive marketplace is critical to our ability to provide a broad selection of products and deliver value to our customers who have limited disposable income. In connection with our marketplace offering, we also engage in corporate sales, where we sell physical goods to local and regional retailers, distributors and other corporate buyers. On our JumiaPay app, we offer a number of digital lifestyle services including utility bills payment, airtime recharge, gaming and entertainment. We had 5.4 million Annual Active Customers as of December 31, 2024. We believe that the number and quality of sellers on our marketplace, and the breadth of their respective offerings, attract more customers to our platform, increasing traffic and orders, which in turn attracts even more sellers to Jumia, creating powerful network effects. Our marketplace operates with limited
inventory risk, as the goods sold via our marketplace are predominantly sold by third-party sellers, meaning the cost and risk of inventory remains with the seller. In 2024, over 85% of the items sold through our marketplace were offered by third-party sellers.
Our logistics service, Jumia Logistics, facilitates the delivery of goods in a convenient and reliable way. It consists of a large network of leased warehouses, pick up stations for customers and drop-off locations for sellers and a significant number of local third-party logistics service providers, whom we integrate and manage through our proprietary technology, data and processes. This integrated logistics ecosystem is essential to our ability to scale operations efficiently across our markets with minimal capital expenditure requirements.
Our payment service, JumiaPay, has been designed to facilitate cashless online transactions between participants on our platform. JumiaPay encompasses a number of functionalities positioning African customers, who have traditionally relied on cash, to transact in a cash-less manner. JumiaPay, with its network of licensed payment service providers and other partners, provides digital payment processing on our platform allowing for a fast and secure payment experience at checkout. JumiaPay also has a dedicated payment app, the JumiaPay app, through which we offer customers a number of digital lifestyle services from a broad range of third-party service providers. As of December 31, 2024, one or more JumiaPay services were available in eight markets: Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and Uganda . The number of JumiaPay Transactions reached 10.1 million in 2024 compared to 8.4 million in 2023. Total Payment Volume (“TPV”) reached $195.4 million in 2024, an increase of 1.7% compared to 2023. Our ongoing efforts to streamline the user experience and expand JumiaPay on delivery have driven the increase in the number of JumiaPay Transactions and TPV, positioning JumiaPay as a strong enabler of the Company’s e-commerce platform.
Our operations benefit from a uniform technology platform coupled with coordinated local presence. Our unified, scalable technology platform has been developed by our technology and data team, which is predominantly located in Portugal and Egypt. This technology platform covers all relevant aspects of our operations, from data management, business intelligence, traffic optimization and customer engagement to infrastructure, logistics and payments. We constantly collect and analyze data to help us optimize our operations, make our customer experience more personal and relevant, and enable us, selected sellers and logistics partners to make informed real-time decisions. Our local teams in each of our countries of operations have access to, and may benefit from, the centralized data collection and analytics and are empowered to use the insights gained from our platform in order to take action locally.
We remain committed to taking the business to profitability through disciplined execution of our strategy, focusing on fundamentals-led growth, improved cash-efficiency and strengthening the consumer value proposition. Throughout 2024, we continued to operate in a challenging macroeconomic environment, implementing strategic initiatives aimed at improving our financial foundation and operational efficiency. In late 2024, we strategically exited two countries, Tunisia and South Africa, to focus our resources on geographies that we believe present the strongest opportunities for long-term growth and profitability. While some performance metrics were impacted by these strategic decisions and market conditions, these steps were essential to build a more resilient business in our remaining nine countries of operation.
Annual Active Customers reached 5.4 million in 2024, a decrease of 5% compared to 2023. Orders reached 22.7 million in 2024, an increase of 6% compared to 2023. GMV reached $720.6 million in 2024, a decrease of 4% compared to 2023. In terms of financial indicators, our Operating loss for 2024 decreased by 10% from $73.3 million in 2023 to $66.0 million in 2024, primarily reflecting the impact of cost reductions over the period. Our Adjusted EBITDA loss for 2024 decreased by 12% from $58.2 million in 2023 to $51.3 million in 2024, driven by cost reductions. For the year 2024, our Loss before Income Tax from continuing operations remained relatively stable, reaching $97.6 million in 2024 compared to $98.6 million in 2023, negatively impacted by currency devaluations in Nigeria and Egypt.
Our Market Opportunity
Comprised of 54 countries and with a total population of 1.5 billion people, Africa is the second-largest continent in the world by land mass and population. According to the United Nations and IMF, in 2024, the nine countries in which we operate counted around 625 million people and 54% of Africa’s internet users and 49% of Africa's GDP. Internet penetration continues to grow in Africa with 54% of Africa’s internet users based in the countries in which we operate.
The African e-commerce landscape is characterized by certain relevant favorable macroeconomic factors and favorable demographic conditions, including strong expected real GDP growth over the medium term, a young population and an expected rapid increase in mobile internet penetration.
Africa represents a large and growing customer market that is positioned for growth, driven by the following key macroeconomic facts and trends:
•Economic development: Despite a challenging environment, economic growth across Africa was positive in 2024. According to the IMF, Africa’s real GDP is estimated to have grown 3.0% in 2024, slower than global GDP which is estimated to be 3.2%. Africa is expected to grow by 4.2% in 2025, and averaging 4.1% for 2024 to 2029. This compares to expected global averages of 3.2% in 2025 and 3.2% for 2024 to 2029. In parallel, household spending is expected to grow at robust rates. According to the Brookings Institution, household spending in sub-Saharan Africa has grown 217% faster than the population over the past 20 years and household consumption in Africa is expected to reach 2.1 trillion by 2025 and 2.5 trillion by 2030.
•Infrastructure investments: Investments in infrastructure are a key driver of growth in Africa. According to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, in 2023, foreign direct investments declined to $53 billion from $54 billion in 2022.
•Large, fast-growing and young population:As of 2024, Africa comprised approximately 19% of the world’s population, according to the United Nations. The United Nations projects a 68% increase in Sub-Saharan Africa's population by the year 2050. The United Nations also projects that Nigeria will become the 5th most populated country in the world by 2050, after India, China, the United States and Pakistan. The average age across the African continent was 19.2 years in 2024, more than eleven years younger than the global average of 30.6 years in 2024, according to the United Nations. We believe that this younger generation, born into an “online” world is increasingly seeking access to a wider choice of consumer goods and entertainment options as it becomes increasingly connected to, and aware of, global customer trends.
•Increasing urbanization: Urban centers play a critical role in driving economic growth. As of 2023, it is estimated that only 45% of Africans lived in urban centers, compared to 83%in North America and 53% in Asia, according to a report from United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. However, Africa has the fastest urban growth in the world with approximately 60% of Africans expected to be living in urban areas by 2050, indicating an organic and migration-driven growth of over 800 million people to urban centers during that period, according to the United Nations.
Increasing Internet Penetration
Africa is rapidly becoming a “connected” market, representing a large opportunity for internet-based businesses. According to Digital 2024: Local country headlines report - Kepios, as of January 2024, Africa had an estimated 616.8 million internet users and, as of January 2024, 276.2 million Social Media user identities across the continent. 54% of internet users and 27% of Social Media user identities lived in the regions in which we operate. Some of the key factors driving this evolution are:
•Investments in mobile network infrastructure: According to GSMA, in 2023, telecommunication operators invested over $7 billion in Sub-Saharan Africa and telecommunication operators across the continent are committed to making additional significant investments in cellular network infrastructure in order to meet rising demand. GSMA estimates the total investments in capex within Sub-Saharan Africa will be $62 billion from 2023 until 2030.
•Growing mobile internet penetration: According to GSMA 2023 estimates, 4G adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to reach 50% of total connections at the end of 2030. This figure is expected to reach 44% in 2026, thereby surpassing 3G as the most widely adopted mobile network generation in Sub-Saharan Africa. 5G is gaining traction in the Sub-Sahara region as operators prioritize network modernization in preparation for its rollout. The adoption of 5G in the region is anticipated to accelerate in the latter half of the decade and expected to reach 17% by 2030 (equivalent to 250 million 5G connections). The adoption of 5G across Sub-Saharan Africa shows notable variation between countries. South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya are expected to contribute over half of the region's 5G connections by 2030. Although the growth of 5G in the region will be steady, the majority of users will continue transitioning to 4G, which will remain the predominant technology for some time.
•Increasing smartphone adoption: While feature phones remain popular in Africa, smartphone penetration as a percentage of the total mobile connections is growing, amounting to 51% in Sub-Saharan Africa and to 84% in Northern Africa in 2023, and is expected by GSMA to increase to 81% and 90%, respectively, by 2030. By 2030, GSMA anticipates that the leading five smartphone markets in Sub-Saharan Africa will be located in Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya
Evolving Shopping Trends from Offline to Online
As African customers become more affluent and “connected,” we believe that African customers will increasingly become aware of online shopping. Moreover, organized retail is underdeveloped across most of the continent, making the distribution of goods less efficient than in other regions in the world. Against this backdrop, we believe that e-commerce is an attractive alternative to the general lack of organized retail outlets. We believe that the expansion and success of e-commerce solutions across Africa will be driven by the following factors:
•Increasing customer awareness and trust:As e-commerce and the internet are both relatively new to Africa, educating African customers about the benefits of online shopping (including for “non-standard” items such as apparel) will be a key factor driving customer adoption.
•Availability and quality of logistics infrastructure: Outside of certain major cities, many Africans live in areas that lack clear addresses, including in rural areas that are often far from the nearest warehouse or distribution center. As infrastructure continues to improve across Africa and urbanization rates increase, we expect increasing availability of reliable, high-quality and cost effective delivery solutions to contribute to the rise of e-commerce in Africa.
•Customer adoption of mobile and digital payments: Electronic payments in the form of mobile phone-based solutions, credit, debit or prepaid card or other similar methods are already an important form of payment in Africa. According to data from GSMA, Africa was home to 856 million registered mobile money accounts in 2023, 49% of mobile money accounts globally, with a transaction value of $919 billion, 66% of global mobile money transaction value. Mobile payment allows customers to participate in the formal economy while enabling electronic payment of e-commerce orders, driving higher delivery success rate vs. cash on delivery transactions, thus increasing the overall efficiency of e-commerce.
Our Value Proposition
Our Value Proposition to Sellers
•Access to a large and growing customer base: We believe that our brand has become synonymous with online and mobile shopping in our markets, and we have built a logistics service that provides sellers with access to customers across a wide delivery footprint. As a result, through our platform, local sellers can efficiently reach customers across a particular country without dealing with delivery challenges themselves, and international sellers can efficiently reach a large number of customers across most major markets in Africa. In 2024, we connected sellers with 5.4 million Annual Active Customers.
•Unique data: We offer our sellers data and analytics services, helping them to more effectively tailor and customize their offerings and marketing efforts. For example, we are able to inform sellers which products have the best conversion rates and at which price points, positioning them to adjust their assortment, price points and marketing campaigns to enhance their performance. This data may also help sellers improve their inventory management processes from forecasting to buying to end-of-life promotions, leading to increased business and capital efficiency.
•Brand building & advertising: We offer our sellers and third-party advertisers access to millions of users across nine African countries with the ability to target audiences in a very granular manner. Leveraging extensive user signals data and the multiple touch points we have with customers, we offer sellers and advertisers a comprehensive range of ad solutions including sponsored product ads, sponsored display banners, CRM ad products and many more. Many sellers have successfully built their brand awareness and run successful advertising campaigns on our marketplace, embracing our platform as a way to distinguish their own brand identities and build brand awareness.
•Infrastructure & business support: Sellers rely on our platform for a range of essential support services to operate their businesses, such as content creation facilities and web-based and mobile interfaces to manage listings, orders or promotional campaigns. We have rolled out in 2024 a new seller platform ("Vendor Center"), with improved features, in order to boost seller experience.
Our Value Proposition to Customers
•Selection and value for money: With approximately 70 thousand sellers active on our platform in 2024, customers have access to goods from a wide range of categories, such as phones, electronics, home & living, fashion, beauty and other including fast-moving consumer goods. As part of our strategic priorities for 2024, we have focused our attention on priority categories (phones, electronics, home & living, fashion and beauty), in which we aim to offer a wide choice of assortment and attractive prices. Our marketplace includes high volume items as well as more niche, tailored and personalized goods, which we refer to as “long-tail” goods. These long-tail goods offer customers greater selection and help us increase customer loyalty. The large number of sellers on our marketplace, and the pricing transparency that is inherent to our platform, lead to competition among our sellers and attractive prices for our customers. Given the relatively low disposable income per capita for middle class consumers in our markets, we place a strong emphasis on price, or "value for money".
•Product quality and customer protection: In order to provide a quality experience, we have implemented standards that encourage our sellers to make quality their priority. Many of our sellers offer customer protection programs, such as product warranties. We have established a data-driven seller scoring program that rewards sellers who consistently offer high-quality goods and are responsive to customer needs, and we have a policy to delist sellers who violate our defined standards and rules. Our approach provides strong incentives for sellers to improve their operations.
•Secure and convenient payments: Given that many customers in Africa are new to e-commerce, reliability and security are critical in convincing customers to make purchases online. We have developed tools and processes to enable customers who prefer not to use cashless payment to pay in cash on delivery for most transactions. We have also developed our own payment solution, JumiaPay, in order to offer our customers a safe, fast and cashless payment solution, whether they shop using a desktop computer or a mobile device, and whether they wish to prepay (upon ordering) or pay on delivery. As of December 31, 2024, one or more JumiaPay services were available in eight markets: Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and Uganda .
•Reliable service: While our primary focus is on delivering exceptional value for money, we also address the need for convenience by emphasizing reliability. We offer simple and affordable delivery services, that are fully reliable and predictable. We have developed an integrated logistics service, Jumia Logistics, enabling us to fulfill and deliver orders even outside main urban centers in a timely and reliable manner. Through Jumia Express, we seek to provide customers with a reliable experience, as we store goods in our warehouses, seek to ensure full availability of all Jumia Express labeled goods and handle the packaging and delivery process, thus providing customers with even faster delivery and more reliable fulfillment. Real-time information on delivery status makes the delivery process transparent for customers.
•Availability beyond main urban centers:Inefficient local supply chains in cities outside the main urban centers have resulted in limited product selection and higher price points compared to major urban centers. Leveraging our broad and efficient delivery network, which relies heavily on pick-up stations, we can competitively serve customers in secondary and rural areas. This capability allows us to offer the same broad product selection available in capital cities, creating new opportunities for local shoppers while expanding market access for our sellers.
Our Strengths
We believe that the following competitive strengths have contributed to our success and position us well for future growth.
Pan-African leader. We believe that we are the only e-commerce business successfully operating across multiple regions in Africa. Our reach and capabilities position us as the preferred partner in Africa for sellers, from individuals to large global brands, and as the preferred digital shopping destination for customers. On our platform, we had a total of 5.4 million Annual Active Customers as of December 31, 2024.
Deep local expertise. Africa has unique economic, technical, geographic and cultural complexities that must be overcome to build a successful business. We operate exclusively in Africa and have invested significant resources to innovate and tailor our platform to reflect local market characteristics since our founding in 2012. Through our operations, we have developed a deep understanding of the needs and preferences of our sellers and the growing African middle-class, which has enabled us to develop solutions that address those needs in the most comprehensive and efficient way. We possess extensive local knowledge of the logistics and payment landscapes in the markets in which we operate. Our ability to manage the key complexities in Africa is an advantage relative to potential international entrants, who may lack our on-the-ground capabilities and local seller and customer insights. We are also well positioned against local competitors within individual markets, who may struggle to expand their reach across multiple markets or build the capabilities necessary to support their operations at scale.
Trusted brand. Trust is critical in Africa, where people traditionally rely on face-to-face interaction to transact business. We believe that our targeted marketing efforts and consistent focus on delivering a high-quality seller and customer experience have helped us to build a strong reputation and create a leading brand that customers and sellers recognize and trust. Our brand is well known by customers and sellers and is among the most recognizable in our regions of operation. For example, Jumia was a leading online marketplace in Africa as of 2023, based on number of monthly visits, according to Statista.
Leading seller platform that fuels powerful network effects. From large international brands to smaller local sellers, we are the go-to partner for e-commerce transactions in Africa. We offer sellers a wide variety of services, including integration to our platform and training on e-commerce, content production, pricing, sales and marketing services, payments, logistics and seller support. These services help our sellers market, sell and deliver goods to customers across Africa. In addition, we enable thousands of international sellers from selected non-African countries (mostly China) to list their goods on our marketplace, providing them with efficient and scalable access to African markets. The number and quality of sellers on our platform, including an increasing number of international sellers, and the breadth of their product offerings attract more customers, increasing traffic and orders, which in turn attracts even more sellers to our marketplace.
Powerful data insights. Our advanced technology platform enables us to collect significant amounts of data that in turn drives our proprietary algorithms, unlocking new capabilities and generating incremental value for our platform. Our data management system, including powerful data analytics services and machine learning algorithms, helps us run our business more efficiently and enables our sellers, customers and partners to maximize the value of our platform. For example, we provide data to sellers to enable them to better understand demand for their goods, help them optimize their assortment and pricing and target and acquire a broader base of customers with similar attributes. For customers, we use our data to create a better shopping experience by personalizing as much as possible every step of the experience, from browsing to delivery. We also leverage our data to help our logistics partners improve their fulfillment and delivery processes.
Strengths Related to Our Business Model
Proven and efficient business model. We operate a marketplace that has by design proven successful in many non-African markets. Our operations center predominantly around our e-commerce marketplace. We also directly sell goods to customers (i.e., consumers, retailers, distributors and other local buyers). Our direct sales to consumers focus on selected categories where we see unmet demand or the need to better control the customer experience. In response to any sales we make, third-party sellers often decide to offer the same or similar goods, allowing us to discontinue our own sales of the relevant product. Accordingly, we typically hold limited inventory.
Scalable, asset-light logistics. We believe that Jumia Logistics is the leading e-commerce fulfillment and express delivery service in Africa. It seamlessly integrates a significant number of logistics partners across Africa, offering sellers on our marketplace the benefits of a distributed and scalable logistics service and customers more rapid access to the goods that they desire. Jumia Logistics is technology and data-centric and asset-light given that most of the last-mile deliveries
are made by our logistics partners. Jumia Logistics facilitates the delivery of packages generated from transactions on our marketplace, from the large cities to remote rural villages of Africa. We are deeply engaged with our logistics partners and take an active role in designing and monitoring processes and tools that allow them to operate their businesses in a more effective way.
Diversified pan-African footprint. We operate in nine countries which provides us with macroeconomic and foreign exchange diversification benefits as we are not overly reliant on any one currency or market. In addition, our large footprint makes us a valuable partner for our sellers, especially international brands and overseas sellers, as they are able to access multiple large markets in Africa through a single platform and partner. Our diversified footprint provides us with economies of scale. For instance, we invest centrally in product development and technology and are able to deploy a unified technology backbone, processes and tools across all markets. We believe that the fundamental dynamics of supply and demand are fairly similar across our nine countries, enabling us to implement a consistent strategy across our footprint, with limited levels of customization in specific activities (such as marketing strategies).
Proprietary technology infrastructure. We have built a highly reliable and scalable technology infrastructure that can handle the large transaction volumes generated on our platform, and we continue to invest in technology to support the strong growth of our business and the ongoing evolution of our services. We have focused the development of our technology infrastructure on building a comprehensive platform rather than disconnected products, which we believe support our ability to handle significant increases in traffic and the number of customers, sellers and orders throughout the Jumia ecosystem.
Multil-channel approach in a channel-agnostic market. Value for money is the main driver for customer decisions, and, while smartphone penetration in Africa is expected to increase, a large part of our addressable market remains used to shopping offline. We have adopted a flexible approach in our product development and marketing efforts:
Our focus on "mobile first" product development and marketing channels allows us to expand the audience for our goods and services, drive up engagement and conversion and reduce our customer acquisition costs. We believe that we have developed a deep understanding of the shopping habits of mobile customers in Africa and deliver the mobile experience to our customers through three types of mobile technologies: native applications, progressive web applications and light browsers (an interface that is compatible with low data consumption browsers).
We have developed a localized playbook of highly relevant offline marketing channels, such as print and radio, and sales networks, including our "J-Force" sales consultants, to address the needs of populations with limited internet access. On the product side, we have developed our seller, logistics and marketing apps to be more user-friendly for local partners with no prior IT experience. Our ability to learn from our customers and partners and adapt to their varying levels of technical knowledge and internet fluency is a valuable asset. This adaptability allows us to extend our network effect beyond major cities and "tech savvy" customers.
Strong corporate culture. We have a diverse management team which is largely based within our operating countries and possess the necessary skills, experience and leadership qualities to effectively guide the organization towards achieving its strategic objectives. Our corporate culture is central to our success and is based on core values shared by everyone at Jumia. We believe that all our employees are leaders, that every challenge has a solution, that even big organizations need to be innovative and that diversity, meritocracy and team work are paramount to success. We invest in the career development of our employees, knowing that diversity of perspective, backgrounds and talents strengthens our business. We recognize the importance of diversity and are committed to increasing diversity within Jumia taking into account the particular environment in our local markets. As we have just been through a couple of intense years of restructuring and tough macroeconomic conditions, we believe that our strong corporate culture has been a critical asset to keep the teams together and build a stronger business.
Our Growth Strategy
In determining our strategy, we seek to balance usage growth, platform monetization and cost efficiency. The key elements of our growth strategy include:
Strengthen and expand our leadership position across our current markets. We will focus on leveraging our e-commerce platform to further increase penetration across our current markets, byenhancing customer engagement, expanding product assortment, and improving operational efficiencies. We believe the markets in which we currently operate present substantial growth opportunities. We believe that the opportunities within our existing geographic footprint provide a significant runway for future growth without requiring substantial incremental investments.
Deliver significant value to customers by offering an assortment of key products at attractive price points.We aim to strengthen our product assortment by expanding our supply through a diversified mix of sources, including established brands, local marketplace sellers and international sellers. Our strategy prioritizes key product categories (fashion, beauty, home & living, electronics and phones) that drive customer demand while also emphasizing entry-level products designed to meet the needs of customers with limited discretionary income. We believe this approach may require investment in working capital to ensure the availability of competitively priced products.
Leverage operational efficiencies to further enhance the Jumia value proposition. We are committed to further enhancing operational efficiencies across our platform to ensure cost-effectiveness for both customers and sellers. For customers, this is reflected in reduced shipping fees and transparent pricing without hidden costs. For sellers, we offer competitive commission rate to foster sustainable business growth. To achieve this, we are optimizing our cost structure to effectively serve cost-conscious customers while maintaining profitability. This includes disciplined expense management across our operations, with particular emphasis on our logistics network and customer experience functions.
Grow our customer base through upcountry expansion.Our strategy focuses on acquiring new customers by utilizing our efficient and scalable delivery model to reach underserved regions. Outside of the main urban centers in our markets, inefficiencies in traditional retail supply chains usually leave customers with very limited choice and high price points. This strategic initiative positions us to provide these customers with Jumia's broad product selection and competitive pricing, by leveraging our robust logistic capabilities and localized approach.
Increase customer adoption and repurchase rates through efficient and relevant marketing channels.To drive new customer acquisition and encourage repurchases, we plan to invest in what we believe to be the most efficient and relevant marketing channels. Given that the markets in which we operate are still predominantly offline, we believe traditional advertising methods, such as local print media, radio and sales agents provide an effective means of fostering customer adoption. Additionally, we leverage low-cost online marketing channels, including customer relationship management, to re-engage and drive usage among customers who have previously purchased through our platform. This balanced approach is designed to maximize reach and efficiency while supporting sustained customer growth and retention.
Monetize usage and assets of our platform through diversified revenue streams. We consider monetization a by-product of scale and intend to generate more revenue as we drive sales for our partners and expand our customer base beyond capital cities and primary urban centers. With respect to marketing revenues, we will focus on building strong joint business plans with our top brands and enhancing advertising inventory for our marketplace sellers through sponsored products. We will continue to improve the monetization of our Jumia Express service by charging sellers a premium to store their products in our warehouse, enabling faster delivery to customers. We also plan to monetize our JumiaPay payment processing solution by extending its services off-platform in Egypt, where we have obtained the necessary licenses. We plan to scale our logistics service offerings to third-party customers, including non-ecommerce businesses. These services have been successfully piloted at scale in the Ivory Coast for several years, leveraging our extensive and efficient distribution network, and are well-positioned for rollout across additional markets.
Increase cost efficiencies. We intend to grow usage of our platform in a cost effective, cash disciplined manner. We are seeking to drive efficiencies across the full cost structure, which will include the following measures:
•On fulfillment expense, we intend to increase our efforts on the efficiency initiatives introduced in late 2022. We aim to further improve the freight and shipping costs of deliveries by consolidating our pool of third party logistics providers and negotiating better rates. Additionally, we intend to improve efficiencies in our physical infrastructure by increasing staff productivity and reducing packaging materials usage. In 2024, we transitioned into larger, more modern warehouse facilities in several countries, enabling us to consolidate several smaller locations and achieve greater productivity. In addition, as part of our broader fulfillment strategy, we continue to consider the challenging fulfillment economics of certain product categories in our product development and overall strategic planning.
•With respect to marketing expenses, we intend to improve marketing efficiency by adopting best practices from countries with the highest efficiency ratios and focusing our spend on the marketing channels that deliver the strongest returns on investment. In particular, we will place greater emphasis on "free" channels such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Additionally, we will focus on local marketing channels, including above-the-line education and activation initiatives, while shifting a larger share of marketing expense into local currency denominations. This strategy includes adopting a hyperlocal approach tailored to our addressable markets.
•While we plan to continue investing in our technology backbone, we intend to prioritize our development roadmap on products and features that deliver immediate benefits in terms of user experience to customers and sellers, or that enable significant simplification and efficiencies in our operations.
•With respect to general and administrative expense, we reduced staff costs by streamlining our management structure to create a leaner and more agile organization. This included relocating senior leadership and decision-making centers closer to our customers and sellers in Africa. Beyond the management restructuring, we remain focused on optimizing staffing and administrative expenses across functions and countries while improving our internal processes and IT systems.
Our Geographic Footprint
We operate in nine African countries: Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda.
Our footprint allows us to reach 41% of Africa’s 1.5 billion population and 54% of the 616.8 million internet users on the African continent. The nine countries in our footprint account for almost 49% of Africa’s 2.8 trillion gross domestic product.
Our reach and capabilities position us as a preferred e-commerce partner in Africa for sellers, from individuals to large global brands, and as the preferred shopping destination for customers.
Our presence across Africa positions us to address the diverse needs of the continent's e-commerce environment. Our unified platform and operating model ensure consistency in core functionalities. This allows us to leverage economies of scale and best practices, while maintaining the flexibility to adapt specific elements to local requirements. We operate under the brand “Jumia”.
Our Platform
We believe that our integrated platform, consisting of Jumia Marketplace, Jumia Logistics and JumiaPay, helps sellers and customers to easily connect and transact with each other.
We have developed our platform based on a centralized approach that allows for strong local execution. We operate on the basis of standardized principles, software and processes, in particular with respect to our strategy, brand, overall marketing strategy and our technology platform. This allows us to realize synergies and increase efficiency for elements that are best handled centrally as well as to share our knowledge and best practices gained with our local teams in the markets in which we operate.
Jumia Marketplace
Our marketplace allows customers to discover, research and buy goods and services and allows sellers to establish their own online presence and efficiently manage their online operations. Our sellers are divided into local and international sellers. Local sellers, which accounted for 64% of our sellers in 2024, include key accounts such as large brands, official distributors, large manufacturers or assemblers of goods, and medium to large local retailers, as well as professional traders, shop owners, small manufacturers, and individual sellers. The remaining 36% are international sellers primarily based in Asia. These sellers are generally experienced in conducting cross-border business and are familiar with the processes of e-commerce. We also act as a seller ourselves, selling goods to customers, including consumers, retailers, distributors and other local buyers. We refer to sales to retailers, distributors and other corporate buyers as corporate sales.
On our marketplace, sellers offer goods from a wide range of categories, such as phones, electronics, home & living, fashion, beauty and other including fast-moving consumer goods. We also offer customers easy access to a number of digital services, such as airtime recharge, utility bills payments and many more.
The following chart shows the share of GMV and items sold by category in 2024 and 2023:
Source: Company information
(1) Other includes fast-moving consumer goods and other categories
In 2024, we focused on improving our supply in our priority product categories (phones, electronics, home & living, fashion and beauty). The successful implementation of that strategy has driven changes in our category mix. In particular, we have improved our performance in our home & living and electronics categories, driven by increased supply and the expansion products sourced from Asia.
In 2024, we had over 800 million visits. We believe that our marketplace is a starting point for many customers to discover, research and buy goods and services.
We believe that our marketplace has the most extensive and relevant online collection of goods across Africa. In 2024, over 85% of items sold on our platform were offered by third-party sellers (i.e., third-party sales). However, we also act as a seller ourselves by directly selling goods to consumers (i.e., first-party sales) and we engage in corporate sales, selling goods directly to local and regional retailers, distributors and other corporate buyers; we refer to these sales (i.e., both sales to consumers and corporate sales) as first-party sales. Sales to consumers focus on selected categories where we see unmet demand or the need to better control the customer experience. While most of our sellers are located in the countries where transactions occur, we are strategically enhancing our supply by expanding partnerships with sellers from non-African countries, particularly in Asia. Such sellers often offer goods that are not readily available in Africa or have better prices, which improves our attractiveness to African customers.
We drive customer engagement by focusing on a product selection along three dimensions: anchor brands (e.g., iconic, sought-after brands), bestsellers (e.g., fastest moving goods in the market) and “long-tail” goods (e.g., wide selection of goods not often sought, but that address specific customer needs). We believe that our offering appeals to customers, who value ease-of-use, a large product selection and competitive prices.
Most of our sellers are required, either by local regulations or by our operating standards, to allow customers to return goods within a certain number of days, providing our customers with the certainty that they will only keep those goods they actually want to keep. The ability to easily return undesired goods is a fundamental pillar of our value proposition to customers, and we believe that it helps us to increase customer trust and loyalty.
We seek to minimize returns and the costs associated with our return policy, in particular by improving the presentation of goods and the information available on goods on our marketplace, offering customer service through our telephone hotline and other online channels, seller education and maintaining and improving our strict quality control. Based on our experience, the vast majority of goods returned to us have not been opened or used and may be resold through the original channel at full price.
In addition to physical goods, we offer a broad range of digital services on the JumiaPay app to provide customers with more digital payment use cases as part of their daily lives. Customers can easily top up credits for their prepaid phone numbers or pay bills for postpaid numbers from most major mobile service providers using their JumiaPay payment app. They can also pay their utility bills such as gas, water, electricity, television subscriptions as well as school tuition. We are also offering coupons (local deals), vouchers (gaming, playstores: iTunes, Google Play), tickets (e.g. transportation, events)
and financial services (insurance, credit and savings products). We have been focused on developing our digital services in a disciplined manner and have reduced marketing investment for the most heavily promotional categories, airtime recharge in particular, to support our unit economics. As of December 31, 2024, our JumiaPay app was available in Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and Uganda.
From 2012 to 2023, we operated a food delivery business called Jumia Food in most of our markets. Following a strategic review of our business, we determined that our food delivery business is not suitable to the current operating environment and macroeconomic conditions in our markets, and closed our food delivery business in all markets by the end of December 2023.
In late 2024, we strategically exited two countries, Tunisia and South Africa, to focus our resources on geographies that we currently believe present the strongest opportunities to drive long-term growth and achieve profitability. We intend to continue investing in our nine countries of operation, according to the United Nations and IMF, in 2024, representing over 625 million people and 54% of Africa’s internet users and 49% of Africa's GDP.
Jumia Logistics
The logistics landscape in Africa is characterized by a high degree of fragmentation, often with no clear leading player in a particular country or region, a high degree of variability between regions and players, a general lack of automation of logistic centers and an overall challenging infrastructure. While some of Africa’s major cities are reasonably well-served by third-party logistics sellers, such sellers often do not operate with the standards required to ensure a good seller and customer experience in the context of e-commerce. In addition, many Africans live in settings which lack clear addresses and are often far from the nearest warehouse or distribution center. As a result, logistics and delivery services are not readily available in such areas or may be prohibitively expensive. Furthermore, many local logistics companies operate without the technology required to provide customers with high quality service (e.g., tracking of their order, timely delivery). Finally, logistics companies may struggle to gain access to financing, making it difficult for them to expand and grow their businesses.
We have built an innovative logistics and delivery infrastructure that we believe is the leading e-commerce fulfillment and express delivery service in Africa. Our technology and data allow us to integrate our service providers, our own logistics management solutions and our partner network solutions. We support local entrepreneurs to help them enter into and succeed in the logistics industry by offering them relevant know-how, data, technology and tools. We have also developed a number of processes to benchmark the performance of service providers and to promote healthy competition between such service providers.
Jumia Logistics covers all stages of the fulfillment chain, including warehousing, inbound deliveries, picking and packing, last-mile and payment, tracking and return handling. Our warehouse infrastructure is based on a standardized model and software technology, operated and executed on a local level, and specifically tailored to e-commerce needs. It is designed to increase mid-mile efficiency and reduce lead times in fulfillment processes. As of December 31, 2024, Jumia Logistics platform consisted of over 210 logistics partners, over 120,000 sqm of warehousing space, almost 250 drop-off stations for sellers and almost 1,550 pick-up stations for customers. All of our warehouse space is leased from third parties. We control the vast majority of inbound deliveries, whether they are made by sellers at our drop-off stations, picked-up from seller facilities, or picked and packed orders on behalf of sellers who use our storage service. Our tracking solution provides full visibility over the package journey. As part of our full-service fulfillment and express delivery infrastructure, we also control the collection and processing of returned merchandise for our sellers. For international sellers, we provide additional support concerning the import/export process.
Through our Jumia Express program, we seek to provide our customers and sellers with a superior experience. Goods offered under our Jumia Express program are stored in our warehouses, allowing faster delivery to customers without any involvement from the sellers. Sellers benefit as they do not need to arrange for storage of goods they offer via our marketplace or become involved in the fulfillment of individual customer orders.
Our current logistics set-up is the result of significant investments we have made to scale our data and technology tools across the value chain, including investments in end-to-end process optimization and back-end fulfillment systems. We believe that our current fulfillment infrastructure positions us well for scaling, in particular due to our standardized model and software technology. When required, we are able to onboard new logistics partners thanks to our automated systems or expand our current warehouse set-up by adding floors. Furthermore, our business operations do not have special requirements that would be hard to meet, which facilitates the opening of additional warehouse facilities. Our current
fulfillment set-up generally allows us to keep our operations asset-light, only requiring minimal capital expenditures with respect to our logistics service. Historically, we offered logistics services to third party businesses in certain of our markets and we continue to offer this service in Ivory Coast.
JumiaPay
The African banking and payment landscape is characterized by a high degree of fragmentation of financial institutions and service providers, a general lack of infrastructure, low customer trust and high perceived levels of fraud. Customers are often wary of using bank accounts or other banking platforms, as they are afraid that their money may not reach the intended recipient. The challenges are relevant in the context of our marketplace because they contribute to the desire of many of our customers to pay in cash and make it especially important that we offer reliable and secure payment options for prepaid transactions on our platform. We do this through our payment service, JumiaPay.
We secured payment service licenses in Egypt through the National Bank of Egypt in 2021, in Nigeria in 2022, and in Kenya in 2023, allowing us to offer payment processing services on our platform in these countries.
Payment and Digital Services
Our payment service, JumiaPay, together with its network of licensed payment service providers and other partners, enables sellers and customers to transact using a variety of payment methods for transactions conducted on our marketplace. As of December 31, 2024, JumiaPay was available in eight markets: Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and Uganda..
JumiaPay operates as a pass through with a number of different payment gateways to give our customers multiple payment options and provides our customers with cashback and top-ups, which are similar to vouchers and have the primary purpose of encouraging customer loyalty. Cashback and top ups generally cannot be withdrawn or transferred from a customer's Jumia account. Instead, they can only be used as credit toward subsequent purchases on our platform.
•Search engine optimization / app store optimization: By analyzing the relevance of key search terms and seeking to ensure that our mobile applications, mobile-optimized websites and traditional websites are designed to efficiently utilize such relevant terms, we constantly work to improve our design with a view to ensuring that our mobile applications, mobile-optimized websites and traditional websites are ranked high in organic searches and the maximum relevant traffic is directed to them.
•Search engine marketing: We further selectively rely on search engine marketing that involves the promotion of our websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results pages, primarily through paid advertising.
•Paid social media: Social media channels help us improve our brand recognition and generate additional word-of-mouth referrals and thereby new customers. Our online marketing strategy follows a full-funnel approach, going beyond direct response ads, which are focused on customer conversion, towards top-of-the-funnel activities such as video advertising to drive brand awareness and customer consideration.
•Customer relationship management: Our CRM activities serve as a free engine for re-engagement of our visitors and customers through all type of notifications (e.g., app notifications, SMS, emails). Our artificial intelligence-powered CRM growth tool is a core lever of our marketing efforts allowing us to target our audiences in a more granular manner and push personalized content leveraging data which helps us to both reduce opt-outs and drive usage uplift.
Alongside online performance marketing channels, a number of non-performance online channels form a core part of our marketing strategy, including the following:
•Social media influencers: To strategically increase our overall reach and enhance brand perception, we also selectively work with influencers (e.g., local celebrities, Key Opinion Leaders, or KOLs, niche publishers and content creators) across a large number of social media channels as well as YouTube.
•YouTube: We further leverage our YouTube channel to run video campaigns to maximize our coverage, especially during our promotional events. By using videos as a separate marketing channel, we are able to achieve quantifiable impact over our organic channels, while also using video as a market research tool.
While historically the vast majority of our marketing spend was allocated to online performance and non-performance marketing channels, going forward, we intend to shift a higher share of our marketing spend to local, offline marketing channels. A number of offline marketing channels have proven to be highly relevant and effective in driving customer awareness, education and increase traffic to our platform, while being more cost effective than online channels. Offline channels include:
•On-the-ground activation. We have a significant on-the-ground presence through agencies and street activation teams. In certain markets, we have launched our sales program JForce, which consists of independent sales consultants that earn commissions by selling the goods and services that we offer on our platform to their personal or professional networks. Our consultants raise awareness of Jumia locally while educating customers about e-commerce, enabling us to further promote our brand. The profile of our consultants is very diverse, comprising students, young professionals as well as small shops and retailers.
•Mass media. These channels include localized radio campaigns as well as geotargeted billboards. They help us further build trust and awareness through targeted out-of-home campaigns to increase our reach in strategic yet underpenetrated geographical areas.
As part of our general marketing strategy, we create promotional events that are relevant to customers. Large campaigns are typically executed simultaneously in all our major markets. However, start dates may vary by a few days due to local holidays. For other campaigns, more flexibility exists as to the dates and the commercial intensity of the campaign.
Our Support
Our Seller Support
We have developed strong seller support processes to help our sellers manage their operations, further grow their businesses and deepen their level of engagement with us. We take the seller experience beyond the traditional “business only” approach by thinking of, and treating, our sellers as partners. Benefiting from our locally deployed teams with deep knowledge of market characteristics, we offer our sellers fast and localized operational and technological assistance. For example, our seller support teams provide sellers with personalized assistance and answer questions relating to operations, category management, inventory management and pricing. In addition to dedicated Key Account Managers for nominated strategic partners, we have enhanced our support to sellers, by offering an omnichannel support system, offering claim forms and real-time messaging channels to reach out to our dedicated support service teams. We also have an online training platform called “Vendor Hub” in each country that supports seller growth while helping new sellers thrive on our platform.
Our Customer Support
In line with our focus on providing a superior customer experience, we consider customer support to be a key element of our operations. Our dedicated customer service teams focus on serving customers on our marketplace through telephone hotlines, live chat and social media channels. To provide such services, we operate a multilingual omnichannel customer service center supporting the languages spoken in our markets. In addition, we have enhanced our live chat channel with a Chatbot designed to automate a substantial portion of customer interactions, enabling faster and more efficient support. In order to ensure consistent and high quality customer service, all of our customer service centers operate based on standardized principles, software and processes. By focusing on the high quality of our customer service, we seek to ensure a frictionless customer journey and an enhanced customer experience at each touch point, from product search, checkout, to delivery and after sales support.
Technology and Data
We believe that we have the most advanced and sophisticated e-commerce platform in the markets in which we operate. Our platform is operated by more than 250 technology professionals, providing us with significant innovative potential as we continually seek to expand and optimize our technology and infrastructure. Our technology experts are predominantly located in our global technology centers in Porto, Portugal, and in Cairo, Egypt. Portugal is well located to serve Africa in terms of time zones and travel options, is part of the European Union, which allows us to recruit talent on a European level and provides a favorable cost of living environment. Our technology center in Egypt allows us to tap into the growing technology talent pool in Egypt and supports all business areas and countries.
Technology and Data Platform
We have created a custom- and purpose-built modular technology and data platform that is highly adapted to our markets and highly scalable. Our technology and data platform covers all steps along the value chain, from seller
recruitment and support to customer acquisition and engagement, traffic optimization, payments, logistics, infrastructure and business intelligence and is built with a service-oriented architecture approach for every component.
The following graphic demonstrates the powerful network effects generated by the interactions of our sellers and customers with our platform:
Source: Company information
To meet customers’ expectations, we have developed our mobile applications, mobile-optimized websites and traditional websites, which are programmed and updated in-house as a resilient storefront for our product offering, focusing on reducing downtime while providing a state-of-the-art customer experience. Our services are designed in a High-Availability (HA) architecture helping us to ensure the stability and reliability of our technology backbone. In our technology operations, we rely on a hybrid infrastructure, based on the cloud computing platform provided by third parties, and a private hosting provider for part of our back-office systems for which services we pay licensing fees. Cloud computing helps us to efficiently store data and maintain and speed up the availability of our mobile applications, mobile-optimized websites and traditional websites.
While we offer a variety of different interfaces (e.g., through our mobile applications, mobile-optimized websites and traditional websites), our platform is based on our central authentication system, allowing our customers to access all our services and platform with the same credentials.
As mobile traffic accounted for the majority of our overall platform traffic in 2024, our front-end development focuses primarily on features that improve user experience on mobile devices. We specifically optimize our mobile applications for size, in order to make them easier for customers to download or to upgrade. We also invest significant resources in optimizing the performance of our mobile applications to help customers save time and optimize the use of mobile data while browsing our mobile applications.
We analyze seller and customer behavior, and we tailor the design and the content of our mobile applications, mobile-optimized websites and traditional websites to ensure that they stay relevant to customers. We prioritize all new developments and new features based on local insights that we are able to gather with our local teams.
We make significant investments in our innovation and research and development activities. For example, we currently focus on machine learning and artificial intelligence, Kubernetes and spot instances (e.g., enhanced elasticity and resilience of infrastructure, cost efficiency) applied to both our application and data-lake infrastructure. Those investments typically contribute to improved user experience of our platforms, higher conversion rates as well as improved cost efficiency. In 2025, we intend to keep the focus on investments into information technology and systems to protect the security, integrity and confidentiality of our data.
Payment Services Technology
JumiaPay integrates relevant local and international payment methods to facilitate payments. This is done either with a direct integration, if the expected transaction volume warrants the effort, or by using aggregators. We generally aim to present a unified experience to our users, irrespective of the payment method used, and process payment information in a secure environment based on the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). At the same time, we offer a unified application programming interface (API) across all payment methods
.
We have developed our fraud scoring and risk monitoring processes using what we believe to be industry-leading software that utilizes algorithms that analyze different criteria. We are also developing a proprietary tool for fraud and risk monitoring. Our focus on disciplined fraud risk management through our scoring algorithms has allowed us to further reduce the share of bad debts and credit or debit card chargebacks, while at the same time accelerating our growth.
Security
When expanding and operating our technology platform, we constantly focus on security and reliability. To this end, we undertake administrative and technical measures to protect our systems and the customer data that those systems process and store (e.g., cloud storage, data encryption, VPN network). We have developed policies and procedures designed to manage data security risks (e.g., disaster recovery systems, penetration and security testing) and implemented various security measures, including zero-trust architecture, password security, firewalls, automated backup systems and high-quality antivirus software. We also store proprietary information and business secrets, and we employ third-party service providers that store, process and transmit such information on our behalf, in particular payment details. We also rely on encryption and authentication technology licensed from third parties to securely transmit sensitive and confidential information. We take steps such as the use of password policies and firewalls to protect the security, integrity and confidentiality of sensitive and confidential information that we and our third-party service providers store, process and transmit.
Competition
The African retail landscape is characterized by a high degree of fragmentation, which often exhibits no clear leading player in the markets in which we operate. On a regional or country level, we face competition from both offline and online companies across our broad offering. The vast majority of customer expenditures is, however, still taking place offline.
Our offline competitors vary from market to market but typically include traditional brick-and-mortar retailers such as local or regional retail chains and informal, local stores. Our main online competitors include Amazon and noon in Egypt, Konga in Nigeria, Kilimall in Kenya and Marjane Mall in Morocco. Several global websites, such as Amazon, Asos, AliExpress (part of Alibaba group), Temu and Shein also offer shipping services to certain African countries for a selection of products.
Employees and Culture
Our employees are based in sixteen countries, and 36.8% of our employees were female and 63.2% were male as of December 31, 2024. Our corporate culture is anchored in our entrepreneurial and collegial roots, and our employees are deeply committed to our success.
We seek to promote the following core values to drive the action of our employees every day:
•We are a group of leaders committed to winning the digital landscape in Africa.
•We achieve impact by thinking faster and executing better than any other business.
We believe that we maintain a good working relationship with our employees, and we have not experienced any significant labor disputes or any difficulty in recruiting staff for our operations. While our employees across the eight countries in which we operate are not represented by any collective bargaining agreement or labor union, other than standard and non-binding personnel representations, a small portion of employees working in our warehouse operations in Morocco have been represented by a labor union since May 2024. Furthermore, we are committed to establishing and developing our workforce through succession planning, internal development and targeted external recruiting.
Intellectual Property
Our intellectual property, including copyrights and trademarks, is important to our business. We have registered trademarks in most relevant jurisdictions for “Jumia”. Our intellectual property portfolio includes numerous domain names for websites that we use in our business.
We control access to, use and distribution of our intellectual property through confidentiality procedures, non-disclosure agreements with third parties and our employment and contractor agreements. We rely on contractual provisions with our partners to protect our proprietary technology, brands and creative assets. We constantly monitor our trademarks in order to maintain and protect our intellectual property portfolio, including by pursuing any infringements by third parties.
Insurance Coverage
We have taken out a number of group insurance policies that are customary in our industry, such as property and loss of earnings insurance, business liability insurance, including insurance for product liability, transport insurance and environmental liability insurance. We believe that our insurance policies contain market-standard exclusions and deductibles. We regularly review the adequacy of our insurance coverage and consider the scope of our insurance coverage to be customary in our industry.
Facilities
Our headquarters are located at Skalitzer Straße 104, 10997 Berlin, Germany. Our lease is on a monthly basis.
As of the date of this Annual Report, we do not own any real estate property. The following table provides an overview of our material leased real estate property:
Our business is subject to numerous regulations and requirements under the applicable national laws of the various African countries in which we operate. Many of these jurisdictions are characterized by evolving and sometimes uncertain legal systems and regulatory regimes. Below we summarize a non-exhaustive list of significant regulations or requirements in the jurisdictions where we conduct our material business operations.
Data Protection
Following the introduction of comprehensive data protection legislation in Senegal in 2008, in Morocco in 2009, in Ghana in 2012, in Ivory Coast in 2013, in Algeria in 2018, in Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda in 2019, and in Egypt in 2020, all countries in which we operate have personal data protection laws, although the regulatory authorities responsible for implementation of data protection legislation are not yet fully resourced in some of our countries of operation but with ongoing efforts to build their full operational capacity. We are furthermore subject to the EU General Data Protection Regulation which came into force in May 2018 and has extra territorial effect in respect of data collected from individuals situated in the European Union.
The applicable data protection laws regulate the collection, storage, transfer, disclosure and other use of personal data.The data protection laws in our countries of operations allow the transfer of personal data abroad, but under certain conditions. For example, the destination country shall ensure an equivalent or appropriate level of protection and implement the appropriate contractual safeguards. In some cases, the regulatory authority may require an authorization for transfer of personal data outside the jurisdiction.
Our business collects personal data from users of our websites, customers, sellers, suppliers, contractors and other individuals. Compliance with nascent data protection regulations presents a challenge, particularly where practical guidelines on implementation of new legislation have not yet been issued. Our group Data Privacy Policy covers the handling of all personal data in accordance with local and international regulatory requirements.
Consumer Protection
We are subject to several laws and regulations designed to protect consumer rights. These consumer protection laws typically set out basic consumer rights, which often include the right to obtain clear and accurate information about products and services offered on the consumer market, and the right to obtain clear and accurate terms and conditions of the sale of goods. In Morocco consumer protection legislation grants customers the right to return products within seven days after delivery, and in Egypt we are required to allow returns within fourteen days after delivery, if customers change their mind, known as the right of withdrawal,
In 2020, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria ("SON") published draft E-Commerce Guidelines for consultation, which includes proposals for extensive product warranties in respect of products sold online. Other countries in which we operate, including Egypt and Kenya, have announced initiatives to evaluate e-commerce regulation or are in the early stages of preparing draft legislation to expand e-commerce regulations.
Product Safety
Product safety laws operate across all our markets, with varying degrees of maturity and specificity. Many of the goods sold on our marketplace are offered and delivered by third parties, which makes it difficult for us to predict our liability exposure or establish standard procedures for product safety. Nevertheless, we take a proactive approach to quality control and product safety in all of our markets, with specific quality checks in place based upon the sensitivity of goods and services offered in various markets. We seek to limit liability exposure across markets through standard contractual terms that require all sellers on our marketplace to accept responsibility for any loss or damage caused by their products and indemnify us accordingly. We also penalize, including by delisting, sellers who offer prohibited products. Furthermore, we implement country-specific product safety, quality control, and liability-limiting procedures as necessary.
Payment Services
Some of the countries in which we operate lack advanced financial infrastructure, and the percentage of Africans with a bank account, although increasing rapidly, remains relatively low. Accordingly, most of our transactions are
completed using a cash on delivery system. Integrated payment and delivery systems are relatively new in Africa, and regulation of such services is constantly evolving.
We offer certain payment and financial services to our customers and sellers across the various African markets in which we operate. In a number of jurisdictions we offer services as a payment service provider (“PSP”) for our marketplace. While we do not hold licenses to operate as a PSP for third-party merchants in all of our markets, we are permitted to offer JumiaPay services in certain markets for our marketplace through agreements we have with existing licensed banks or PSPs. We secured a payment solution service provider license in Nigeria in 2022, and a payment service provider license in Kenya in 2023, which allow us to operate as an independent PSP in Nigeria and Kenya, respectively. Additionally, through the National Bank of Egypt, we secured the relevant license to offer payment processing services off-platform in Egypt in 2021.
Our marketplace enables licensed third-party lenders to offer loans to our customers or sellers in other jurisdictions such as Nigeria and Ivory Coast. Because we only operate as an intermediary in the lending market in these countries, our partners are responsible for the underwriting and credit scoring process.
Other financial regulations and payment standards in Africa vary greatly from country to country. Certain jurisdictions have enacted legislation to prevent money laundering, fraud and terrorist financing. For example, in 2001, the Egyptian Government established the Information Technology Industry Development Authority and tasked it with regulating online transactions and other aspects of the information technology industry. Other jurisdictions require that we obtain licenses to offer certain of our payment solutions. Furthermore, in Ghana, the Payment Systems and Services Bill has been implemented allowing the Bank of Ghana to regulate an estimated 150,000 active mobile-money agents and enforce anti-money-laundering and data protection standards. Internet activity in Ghana is currently regulated by the National Communications Authority (“NCA”). The NCA enforces the Electronic Transactions Act of 2008, which provides a comprehensive legal framework for, among other things, electronic transactions, data protection and electronic funds transfer.
The general inconsistency of financial regulations adds to the security concerns of credit worthy customers that make them reluctant to electronically transfer funds or pre-pay for goods. Resolving the barriers to creating a reliable financial infrastructure would require cooperation between governments, financial institutions and mobile service providers.
Shipping Services
Logistics and transportation services are regulated and operators, including our 3PL partners, are generally required to secure licenses in our countries of operation. In some of the countries in which we operate the national postal service has monopoly rights. For example, in Morocco, the postal service has monopoly rights for the distribution of letters and parcels weighing no more than one kilogram, limiting our options concerning last-mile delivery.
C. Organizational Structure
Please refer to Note 5 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for a listing of the company’s consolidated subsidiaries, including name, country of incorporation, and proportion of ownership interest.
D. Property, Plants and Equipment
See “—B. Business Overview—Facilities.”
Item 4A. Unresolved Staff Comments
Not applicable.
Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects
The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the information included under Item 4. “Information on the Company” and Item 18. “Financial Statements”. This following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to, those described
in Item 3. “Key Information—D. Risk Factors.” Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements.
Our consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB.
For a discussion of the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to December 31, 2022, refer to the section contained in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023, “Item 5: Operating and financial review and prospects.”
Overview
We are the leading pan-African e-commerce platform. Our platform consists of our marketplace, which connects sellers with customers, our logistics service, which enables the shipment and delivery of packages from sellers to customers, and our payment service, JumiaPay, which, together with its network of licensed payment service providers and other partners, facilitates transactions among participants active on our platform in selected markets.
On our marketplace, a large and diverse group of approximately70 thousand sellers offer goods across a wide range of categories, such as phones, electronics, home & living, fashion, beauty and other including fast-moving consumer goods, to customers (i.e., consumers, retailers, distributors and other local buyers). A diverse and competitive marketplace is critical to our ability to provide a broad selection of products and deliver value to our customers who have limited disposable income. In connection with our marketplace offering, we also engage in corporate sales, where we sell physical goods to local and regional retailers, distributors and other corporate buyers. On our JumiaPay app, we offer a number of digital lifestyle services including utility bills payment, airtime recharge, gaming and entertainment. We had 5.4 million Annual Active Customers as of December 31, 2024. We believe that the number and quality of sellers on our marketplace, and the breadth of their respective offerings, attract more customers to our platform, increasing traffic and orders, which in turn attracts even more sellers to Jumia, creating powerful network effects. Our marketplace operates with limited inventory risk, as the goods sold via our marketplace are predominantly sold by third-party sellers, meaning the cost and risk of inventory remains with the seller. In 2024, over 85% of the items sold through our marketplace were offered by third-party sellers.
Our logistics service, Jumia Logistics, facilitates the delivery of goods in a convenient and reliable way. It consists of a large network of leased warehouses, pick up stations for customers and drop-off locations for sellers and a significant number of local third-party logistics service providers, whom we integrate and manage through our proprietary technology, data and processes. This integrated logistics ecosystem is essential to our ability to scale operations efficiently across our markets with minimal capital expenditure requirements.
Our payment service, JumiaPay, has been designed to facilitate cashless online transactions between participants on our platform. JumiaPay encompasses a number of functionalities positioning African customers, who have traditionally relied on cash, to transact in a cash-less manner. JumiaPay, with its network of licensed payment service providers and other partners, provides digital payment processing on our platform allowing for a fast and secure payment experience at checkout. JumiaPay also has a dedicated payment app, the JumiaPay app, through which we offer customers a number of digital lifestyle services from a broad range of third-party service providers. As of December 31, 2024, one or more JumiaPay services were available in eight markets: Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and Uganda . The number of JumiaPay Transactions reached 10.1 million in 2024 compared to 8.4 million in 2023. Total Payment Volume (“TPV”) reached $195.4 million in 2024, an increase of 1.7% compared to 2023. Our ongoing efforts to streamline the user experience and expand JumiaPay on delivery have driven the increase in the number of JumiaPay Transactions and TPV, positioning JumiaPay as a strong enabler of the Company’s e-commerce platform.
Our operations benefit from a uniform technology platform coupled with coordinated local presence. Our unified, scalable technology platform has been developed by our technology and data team, which is predominantly located in Portugal and Egypt. This technology platform covers all relevant aspects of our operations, from data management, business intelligence, traffic optimization and customer engagement to infrastructure, logistics and payments. We constantly collect and analyze data to help us optimize our operations, make our customer experience more personal and relevant, and enable us, selected sellers and logistics partners to make informed real-time decisions. Our local teams in each of our countries of operations have access to, and may benefit from, the centralized data collection and analytics and are empowered to use the insights gained from our platform in order to take action locally.
We remain committed to taking the business to profitability through disciplined execution of our strategy, focusing on fundamentals-led growth, improved cash-efficiency and strengthening the consumer value proposition. Throughout 2024, we continued to operate in a challenging macroeconomic environment, implementing strategic initiatives aimed at improving our financial foundation and operational efficiency. In late 2024, we strategically exited two countries, Tunisia and South Africa, to focus our resources on geographies that we believe present the strongest opportunities for long-term growth and profitability. While some performance metrics were impacted by these strategic decisions and market conditions, these steps were essential to build a more resilient business in our remaining nine countries of operation.
Annual Active Customers reached 5.4 million in 2024, a decrease of 5% compared to 2023. Orders reached 22.7 million in 2024, an increase of 6% compared to 2023. GMV reached $720.6 million in 2024, a decrease of 4% compared to 2023. In terms of financial indicators, our Operating loss for 2024 decreased by 10% from $73.3 million in 2023 to $66.0 million in 2024, primarily reflecting the impact of cost reductions over the period. Our Adjusted EBITDA loss for 2024 decreased by 12% from $58.2 million in 2023 to $51.3 million in 2024, driven by cost reductions. For the year 2024, our Loss before Income Tax from continuing operations remained relatively stable, reaching $97.6 million in 2024 compared to $98.6 million in 2023, negatively impacted by currency devaluations in Nigeria and Egypt.
Our Revenue Model
We distinguish between marketplace revenue and first-party sales. Marketplace revenue is generated from sales of third-party sellers and from services provided via our platform. First-party sales are generated from sales where we act directly as the seller. Within our marketplace revenue, we distinguish the following revenue streams:
•Third-party sales, which are related to the sellers’ ability to sell goods directly to customers through our platform. Our performance obligation with respect to these transactions is to arrange for the sale of goods provided by sellers and deliver them to the customers on behalf of the sellers. We charge a commission to third-party sellers based on the value of the goods and services they sell to customers (i.e., consumers, retailers, distributors and other local buyers) via our marketplace, net of cancellations and returns. Usually, these fees are a percentage of the value of the transaction. The percentage varies by goods or service category and region. Additionally, we charge logistics and delivery fees to our customers and sellers, which are necessary for the consumer to benefit from the goods.
•Marketing & advertising, which corresponds to the revenue generated from the sale of a diversified range of ad solutions to sellers and advertisers.
•Value-added services, which includes revenue from services charged to our sellers, such as warehousing services of products ahead of shipment.
Our first-party sales are derived from activities where we act directly as the seller. We generally undertake them in an opportunistic manner to complement the breadth of the product assortment on our platform, usually in areas where we see unmet customer demand. Under first-party sales, we also engage in corporate sales, i.e. sales where we directly sell goods to local and regional retailers, distributors and other corporate buyers.
Non-platform revenue mainly includes revenue generated from our logistics-as-a-service offering where third-party businesses access the Jumia Logistics platform for their fulfillment needs.
(1)Adjustments for perimeter effects relate to the exit from Tunisia and South Africa as further described under Item 4. "Information on the Company—A. History and Development of the Company—Corporate History and Recent Transactions."
The following definitions explain our operational key performance indicators and non-IFRS financial measures that we use to evaluate our business performance:
Annual Active Customers means unique customers who placed an order for a product or a service on our platform, within the 12-month period preceding the relevant date, irrespective of cancellations or returns. On a quarterly basis, we report Quarterly Active Customers, which refer to unique customers who placed an order for a product or a service on our platform, within the 3-month period preceding the relevant date, irrespective of cancellations or returns.
Orders corresponds to the total number of orders for products and services on our platform, irrespective of cancellations or returns, for the relevant period.
GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) corresponds to the total value of orders for products and services, including shipping fees, value-added tax, and before deductions of any discounts or vouchers, irrespective of cancellations or returns for the relevant period. We believe that GMV is a useful indicator for the usage of our platform that is not influenced by shifts in our sales between first-party and third-party sales or the method of payment.
TPV (Total Payment Volume) corresponds to the total value of orders for products and services for which JumiaPay was used including shipping fees, value-added tax, and before deductions of any discounts or vouchers, irrespective of cancellations or returns for the relevant period.
JumiaPay Transactions corresponds to the total number of orders for products and services on our marketplace for which JumiaPay was used, irrespective of cancellations or returns for the relevant period.
Adjusted EBITDA corresponds to loss for the period from continuing operations, adjusted for income tax expense (benefit), finance income, finance costs, depreciation and amortization and share-based compensation expense.
Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental non-IFRS measure of our operating performance that is not required by, or presented in accordance with IFRS. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measurement of our financial performance under IFRS and should not be considered as an alternative to loss for the year, loss before income tax or any other performance measure derived in accordance with IFRS. We caution investors that amounts presented in accordance with our definition of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similar measures disclosed by other companies, because not all companies and analysts calculate Adjusted EBITDA in the same manner. We present Adjusted EBITDA because we consider it to be an important supplemental measure of our operating performance. Management believes that investors’ understanding of our performance is enhanced by including non-IFRS financial measures as a reasonable basis for understanding our ongoing results of operations. By providing this non-IFRS financial measure, together with a reconciliation to the nearest IFRS financial measure, we believe we are enhancing investors’ understanding of our business and our results of operations, as well as assisting investors in evaluating how well we are executing our strategic initiatives.
Management uses Adjusted EBITDA:
•as a measurement of operating performance because it assists us in comparing our operating performance on a consistent basis, as it removes the impact of items not directly resulting from our core operations.
•for planning purposes, including the preparation of our internal annual operating budget and financial projections.
•to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of our strategic initiatives; and
•to evaluate our capacity to expand our business.
Items excluded from this non-IFRS measure are significant components in understanding and assessing financial performance. Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered in isolation, or as an
alternative to, or a substitute for analysis of our results reported in accordance with IFRS, including loss for the year. Some of the limitations are:
•Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect our share-based compensation, income tax expense (benefit) or the amounts necessary to pay our taxes.
•although depreciation and amortization are eliminated in the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future and such measures do not reflect any costs for such replacements; and
•other companies may calculate Adjusted EBITDA differently than we do, limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure.
Due to these limitations, Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as a measure of discretionary cash available to us to invest in the growth of our business. We compensate for these and other limitations by providing a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to the most directly comparable IFRS financial measure, loss for the year.
The following table provides a reconciliation of loss for the year from continuing operations to Adjusted EBITDA for the periods indicated:
For the year ended December 31,
(in USD millions)
2022
2023
2024
Loss for the year from continuous operations
(213.1)
(99.3)
(99.1)
Income tax expense
7.0
0.7
1.5
Net Finance costs / (income)
4.4
25.3
31.6
Depreciation and amortization
11.5
9.8
8.2
Share-based compensation
8.2
5.3
6.5
Adjusted EBITDA(1)
(182.1)
(58.2)
(51.3)
_________________________
(1)Unaudited
The following table provides a reconciliation of loss for the year from continuing operations to Adjusted EBITDA for each fiscal quarter for the periods indicated.
2023(1)
2024(1)
(in USD millions)
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Loss for the year from continuous operations
(29.3)
(30.7)
(22.7)
(16.6)
(40.7)
(22.0)
(16.9)
(19.5)
Income tax expense
0.1
(0.2)
1.3
(0.6)
1.0
(0.5)
(0.9)
1.9
Net Finance costs / (income)
0.8
8.8
3.0
12.7
31.3
2.3
(2.3)
0.3
Depreciation and amortization
2.8
2.6
2.2
2.1
1.9
2.3
1.8
2.2
Share-based compensation
0.9
1.3
1.3
1.7
2.2
1.7
1.3
1.4
Adjusted EBITDA(2)
(24.7)
(18.2)
(14.8)
(0.6)
(4.3)
(16.3)
(17.0)
(13.7)
_________________________
(1)Due to rounding, the sum of quarterly amounts may not equal the amounts reported for the relevant full-year period.
(2)Unaudited.
Factors Affecting our Financial Condition and Results of Operation
Our financial condition and results of operations have been, and will continue to be, affected by a number of important factors, including the following:
Our management board of Jumia, appointed in November 2022, has a clear mandate of accelerating the progress of Jumia towards profitability. As part of that, we have developed a strategy that includes a number of levers that have important financial implications:
•Enhanced business focus: We are working on increasing our business focus by allocating capital and resources to core areas where we see attractive returns on investments and clear ecosystem benefits. For example, following a strategic review of our food delivery business called Jumia Food, we determined that our food delivery business was not suitable to the then-current operating environment and macroeconomic conditions in our markets, and closed our food delivery business in all markets by the end of December 2023. In late 2024, we strategically exited two countries, Tunisia and South Africa, to focus our resources on geographies that we believe present the strongest opportunities to drive long-term growth and achieve profitability. We intend to continue investing in our remaining nine countries of operation, according to the United Nations and IMF, in 2024, representing over 625 million people and 54% of Africa’s internet users and 49% of Africa's GDP.
•Stronger cost discipline: We are taking decisive action on the cost front to drive efficiencies across the full cost structure.
◦Since the fourth quarter of 2022 extending through 2023, we have streamlined our organizational structure, creating leaner, more effective teams, fully committed to the execution of our strategy. In 2024, we decreased our headcount by 752 vs. 2023 and 2,155 vs 2022, which corresponded to a 26% headcount reduction and a 50% headcount reduction, respectively . As part of our organizational changes, we have meaningfully reduced the size of our team in Dubai and relocated some team members to our African offices, closer to our consumers, sellers and operations.
◦We have also been focused on driving marketing efficiencies to significantly reduce our Sales & Advertising expense. As part of that, we are reducing the resources allocated to our paid online marketing investments, while focusing our efforts on the most efficient online channels such as CRM and SEO. We are also allocating a higher share of investment to local offline channels that help us build brand awareness and consideration in a cost-effective manner.
▪Fundamentals-led approach to growth: We seek to enhance the fundamentals of our platform to drive sustainable usage growth. Until 2022, usage growth was primarily fueled by higher promotional intensity and marketing spend leading to a deterioration of unit economics in phases of growth acceleration. Following the change in strategy, our management board is focused on enhancing our core value proposition for customers to drive usage growth. Our primary growth drivers include (1) strengthening supply and improving pricing, (2) expanding our delivery reach to new cities, including those far from major urban centers, and (3) adopting a much more innovative and efficient approach to marketing spend.
Number of sellers and goods and services offered by those sellers
The success of our marketplace, which is central to our business model, is driven by the breadth and quality of the goods and services offered, which depend largely on the number and quality of sellers on our marketplace as well as their ability to increase the range of goods and services they offer to our customers. The number of sellers who received an order on our marketplace within the 12-month period preceding the relevant date, irrespective of cancellations or returns, was approximately 70 thousand as of December 31, 2024. The number of sellers offering similar goods on our marketplace is a key driver of price attractiveness and quality of service, as they compete for market share on our marketplace. Competition between sellers is also essential to our monetization, as it increases the appetite for sellers to use our services that are geared toward enhancing the sellers’ visibility or their quality of service.
While most of our sellers operate locally, within one of our nine markets, we have grown a pool of cross-border sellers, mostly from China. These sellers enable us to tap more effectively supply from manufacturing countries, and fill assortment gaps in our markets.
While we experienced supply challenges on our platform in 2023 and in early 2024, following the depreciation of local currencies against the US Dollar mainly in Nigeria and Egypt, the situation improved in the second half of 2024.
A key focus of our management board is to further strengthen supply on our platform, building stronger relationships with key brands and local distributors across our priority categories, which are phones, electronics, home & living, fashion and beauty.
Growth and engagement of our Annual Active Customers
The acquisition, engagement and retention of users on our platform is a key driver of our financial performance. As of December 31, 2024, Annual Active Customers reached 5.4 million compared to 5.7 million as of December 31, 2023. This decline reflects our strategic shift toward categories with more favorable unit economics, reduced reliance on less profitable high-usage categories like fast-moving consumer goods, and lower spending on customer incentives and promotions.
The pace of customer acquisition and level of repurchase tend to be closely related to the strength of our customer value proposition and relevance of our marketing strategy. In addition to further enhancing our customer value proposition, including enhancing the depth and quality of supply and improving pricing and customer experience, we are working on increasing the relevance and effectiveness of our marketing strategy. In particular, we have shifted our marketing investments towards local marketing channels to support brand awareness and customer education with tailored activation campaigns on the ground.
Payment method and failed delivery rate
The ability for customers to pay on delivery,via cash or digital payment, is an important feature of our platform, in particular for new customers who are transacting online for the first time. In case of payment on delivery, the customer needs to be present at the time of the delivery to pay for the order. While we are constantly improving our operations to make delivery schedules more predictable, some customers are not present at the time of the delivery attempt (for door delivery), or do not come and pick up their packages in pick-up stations, which means that payment on delivery results in a significantly higher portion of failed deliveries than other delivery options. In 2024, failed deliveries represented 24% of the gross orders in Cash on delivery. These failed deliveries are driving higher fulfillment costs, higher costs of operations for our sellers and lower monetization for us as we are not able to collect commissions for such returns. In comparison, orders that are “pre-paid” electronically tend to drive much higher delivery success rates than payment on delivery, driving better monetization for us and, ultimately, lower fulfillment costs and less operational complexities.
The Cancellations, Failed Deliveries, and Returns ("CFDR") rate as a percentage of GMV decreased from 25% in 2023 to 22% in 2024. The CFDR rate as a percentage of Orders increased from 20% in 2023 to 23% in 2024. We are actively working to minimize CFDR through improved communication to customers and operational efficiency.
Efficiency of our fulfillment operations
With Jumia Logistics, we have built an innovative logistics and delivery ecosystem that we believe is the leading e-commerce and express delivery service in Africa. We generate revenue from our fulfillment services mainly through delivery charges charged to our customers and to our sellers. We incur fulfillment expense mainly for third-party logistics providers and for our network of warehouses, where we provide storage services to our sellers, inbound and outbound logistics services and control and consolidate packages.
Fulfillment expense is influenced by a number of factors including:
•The origin of the goods: for example the cost of shipping a product from a cross-border seller based overseas is higher than shipping from a local seller;
•The destination of the package and type of delivery: for example, the cost of delivery to a secondary city or a rural area is higher than the cost of delivery to a main city and the cost of a home delivery is higher than for pick-up station delivery; and
•The type of goods: for example, the cost of delivery is higher for a large home appliance than a fashion accessory.
Our fulfillment expense consists of expense related to the services of third-party logistics providers, which we refer to as freight and shipping, alongside expense mainly related to our network of warehouses, including employee benefit expense, which we refer to as fulfillment expense other than freight and shipping. As part of our strategy to
accelerate progress towards profitability, we are working on a comprehensive plan to drive fulfillment cost efficiencies. This includes a number of actions such as optimizing our footprint and logistics routes, improving warehousing staff management and productivity, and reducing packaging costs.
As part of our strategy, we are building an ecosystem of delivery partners, mostly local entrepreneurs, who carry our deliveries. We enable them with our proprietary systems, and provide reliable volumes for them to grow their business. We have thus built an ecosystem of local partners, who enable Jumia to expand operations with low capital expenditure, efficient costs and adaptability to local market conditions. We view this network as a significant asset for Jumia.
Technology and data
We continuously invest in our technology, data collection and analytics capabilities. Our main technology centers are located in Porto, Portugal, and in Cairo, Egypt, which provide the centralized and harmonized technology backbone for our operations across our three regions. We see our technology and content expense as an investment in future growth and improved experience and satisfaction for our ecosystem participants. We continue to focus on information technology and systems to protect the security, integrity and confidentiality of our data in addition to investments that contribute to improved user experience of our platforms and higher conversion rates.
Seasonality
Our business is seasonal and, consequently, our results tend to fluctuate from quarter to quarter. For example, we consider the fourth quarter, which includes Black Friday and in many countries the year-end holidays, as especially important for generating revenue. Certain special events, including Ramadan, elections or Jumia Anniversary, can result in peak or low demand for our products. In addition, increased inventory in preparation for special events such as Black Friday can have significant impacts on working capital, cash flow, stock losses and write-downs.
The following tables show the development of our quarterly GMV, orders, revenue and gross profit for each quarter in 2022, 2023 and 2024:
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
(unaudited, in USD millions)
2022(1)
GMV(2)
225.1
242.9
212.1
252.4
GMV adjusted for perimeter effects(2)(3)
209.9
226.6
200.4
238.8
Orders(2)
6.6
7.4
6.6
6.9
Orders adjusted for perimeter effects(2)(3)
6.3
7.1
6.3
6.6
Revenue
44.6
53.3
44.8
60.6
Gross profit
24.9
27.3
28.7
37.3
2023(1)
GMV(2)
173.2
179.2
164.1
233.3
GMV adjusted for perimeter effects(2)(3)
165.1
169.8
156.1
224.9
Orders(2)
4.5
4.5
5.7
6.6
Orders adjusted for perimeter effects(2)(3)
4.3
4.3
5.5
6.5
Revenue
41.2
44.0
41.7
59.4
Gross profit
24.9
22.9
22.2
37.1
2024(1)
GMV(2)
181.5
170.1
162.9
206.1
GMV adjusted for perimeter effects(2)(3)
176.2
164.7
158.2
204.5
Orders(2)
4.6
4.8
5.9
7.4
Orders adjusted for perimeter effects(2)(3)
4.5
4.7
5.8
7.3
Revenue
48.9
36.5
36.4
45.7
Gross profit
31.2
21.6
22.9
23.9
_________________________
(1)Due to rounding, the sum of quarterly amounts may not equal the amounts reported for the relevant full-year period.
(2)Key performance indicators as defined in Item 5. "Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Key Performance Indicators."
(3)Adjustments for perimeter effects relate to the exit from Tunisia and South Africa as further described under Item 4. “Information on the Company—A. History and Development of the Company—Corporate History and Recent Transactions.”
We believe that our business will continue to show seasonal patterns in the future. For further information on our quarterly performance, see Item 5. “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—A. Operating Results—Comparison of Fiscal Years Ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024—Consolidated Statement of Operations—Quarterly Data.”
Macroeconomic condition and political environment
Following the exit from Tunisia and South Africa in late 2024, our customers are primarily located in nine countries. Our results of operations and financial condition are significantly influenced by political and economic developments in these countries and the effect that these factors may have on demand for goods and services. The high inflationary and interest rate environment as well as fluctuations in oil and commodity prices may in the short to medium term pose significant macroeconomic challenges. We look at the macroeconomic environment based on a number of factors, which include inflation indicators, consumer confidence index, business confidence index, GDP growth, currency exchange rates, and access to capital and foreign exchange. In particular, inflation indicators were elevated in a number of our countries in 2024, for example the consumer price index (“CPI”) year-over-year increases in December 2024 amounted to 35% in Nigeria, 24% in Egypt and 24%in Ghana, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of Nigeria, Central Bank of Egypt and IMF data, respectively. Inflationary pressure and currency devaluations are further exacerbated by regional conflicts with notable exposures in a number of African countries such as Egypt that engage in trading activities with one or more of the parties involved in a regional conflict. Overall, inflation levels are expected to remain
elevated throughout 2025. Higher inflation rates are putting significant pressure on consumer sentiment and spending power, while affecting our sellers’ ability to import and source goods. Since the fourth quarter of 2022, challenges on both the supply and demand fronts negatively affected the performance of our usage indicators, GMV, Orders and Quarterly Active Customers. On the cost front, while we are experiencing inflation pressure on wages, utility and fuel, we continue implementing a number of efficiency initiatives across the full cost structure to mitigate inflation impact and drive cost reduction.
Components of our Results of Operations
Revenue
We generate revenue primarily from first-party sales, third-party sales, marketing and advertising, and the provision of other services.
First-party sales: Revenue from first-party sales relates to sales of goods where we enter into an agreement with a customer to sell goods and act directly as the seller. We also engage in corporate sales, i.e. sales where we directly sell goods to local and regional retailers, distributors and other corporate buyers. These goods are sold for a fixed price as determined by us and we bear the obligation to deliver those goods to the customer. As such, we are considered to be the principal in these transactions and recognize sales on a gross basis for the selling price at the point in time when the goods are delivered to the consumer. The delivery of the goods is not a separate performance obligation, as the consumer cannot benefit from the goods without the delivery, which must be performed by us. Therefore, revenue for goods and delivery are recognized at the same point in time.
Third-party sales: Revenue from third-party sales is related to our online marketplace which provides third-party sellers the ability to sell goods directly to customers (i.e., consumers, retailers, distributors and other local buyers) through our platform. Our performance obligation with respect to these transactions is to arrange for the sale of goods provided by sellers and deliver them to the customers on behalf of the sellers. We consider that we have one performance obligation in respect of these transactions which is to arrange the sale and delivery of goods to customers on behalf of sellers. Since we do not control the goods, we are an agent in these transactions. We generate a commission fee (normally a percentage of the selling price), which we charge to sellers based on agreements with the sellers. We also render logistics and delivery services to consumers and sellers in relation with third party sales. For those services, as the customer cannot benefit from the goods without the service, which is performed by Jumia. revenue is recognized at a point in time when the goods are delivered to the customer.
Marketing and advertising: We provide advertising services to sellers and non-sellers, such as performance marketing campaigns, placing banners on our platform or sending newsletters and notifications. The advertising services are contractually agreed with the advertisers. As we establish pricing and are primarily obliged to deliver these advertising services, revenue is recognized on a gross basis. The campaigns and banners can be run for a short period as well as be spread over a year and are therefore recognized at a point in time or over the period.
Value-added services: We provide other services to sellers for which we charge a fee such as warehousing services of products ahead of shipment. As we establish pricing, revenue is recognized on a gross basis. Revenue for warehousing is recognized over the period of storage of the goods.
Other revenue: We provide logistics services, such as transportation of goods, to non-sellers. We are deciding the price and assuming the risk of non-performing these services and are deemed the principal in this activity. The performance obligation is satisfied when the shipping services are completed.
If the consideration in a contract includes a variable amount, we estimate the amount of consideration to which we will be entitled in exchange for transferring the goods to the customer. The variable consideration is estimated at contract inception and constrained until it is highly probable that a significant revenue reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the associated uncertainty with the variable consideration is subsequently resolved.
We use the expected value method to estimate the variable consideration given the large number of contracts that have similar characteristics. We then apply the requirements on constraining estimates of variable consideration in order to determine the amount of variable consideration that can be included in the transaction price and recognized as revenue. A refund liability is recognized for the goods that are expected to be returned (i.e., the amount not included in the transaction price), and a right of return asset for the right to recover products when a refund liability is settled.
We grant incentives to our end consumers and subsidies to our sellers. Incentives to end consumers, which include discounts or vouchers, and marketplace subsidies to sellers are consideration payable to a customer and are recognized as a reduction of revenue.
We pay sales commission or fees to parties for each contract that we obtain. We apply the optional practical expedient to immediately expense costs to obtain a contract if the amortization period of the asset that would have been recognized is one year or less. As such, sales commissions and fees are immediately recognized as an expense and included as part of sales and advertising expense.
Cost of revenue: Our cost of revenue includes the external costs directly attributable to fulfilling the performance obligations mentioned above, such as the purchase price of customer products where we act directly as the seller. Certain expenses associated with third-party sales, such as compensation paid to sellers for lost, damaged or late delivery items, and shipping costs related to logistics services to non-sellers are also included in cost of revenue.
Fulfillment expense: Fulfillment expense consists of expense related to services of third-party logistics providers and payment processing expenses, which we refer to as freight and shipping, and expense mainly related to our network of warehouses, including employee benefit expense, which we refer to as fulfillment expense other than freight and shipping. Fulfillment expense other than freight and shipping represents those expenses incurred in operating and staffing our fulfillment and customer service centers, including expense attributable to procuring, receiving, inspecting, and warehousing inventories and picking, packaging, and preparing customer orders for shipment, including packaging materials. Lease expenses are primarily classified as “General and administrative expense” . Fulfillment expense also includes expense relating to customer service operations.
Sales and advertising expense: Sales and advertising expenses represent expenses associated with the promotion of our marketplace and include online and offline marketing expenses, promotion of the brand through traditional media outlets, certain expense related to our customer acquisition and engagement activities and other expense associated with our market presence.
Technology and content expense: Technology and content expenses consist principally of research and development activities, including wages and benefits, for employees involved in application, production, maintenance, operation for new and existing goods and services, as well as other technology infrastructure expense.
General and administrative expense: General and administrative expense contains wages and benefits, including share-based compensation expense, of management, seller management expense, commercial development expense, accounting and legal staff expense, consulting expense, audit expense, lease expense, office related utilities expense, insurance expense, tax expense other than income tax, other overheads and other material general expenses.
Comparison of Fiscal Years Ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024
Consolidated Statement of Operations
For the year ended December 31,
2022
2023
2024
(in USD millions)
Revenue
203.3
186.4
167.5
Cost of revenue
(85.1)
(79.3)
(68.0)
Gross profit
118.2
107.1
99.5
Fulfillment expense
(76.8)
(43.9)
(41.9)
Sales and advertising expense
(66.9)
(21.5)
(17.3)
Technology and content expense
(52.4)
(41.5)
(37.5)
General and administrative expense(1)
(122.2)
(74.4)
(69.9)
Other operating income
2.1
1.2
2.4
Other operating expense
(0.1)
(0.3)
(1.3)
Termination benefits
(3.7)
—
—
Operating loss
(201.8)
(73.3)
(66.0)
Finance income
15.3
6.2
7.3
Finance costs
(19.6)
(31.5)
(38.9)
Loss before Income tax from continuing operations
(206.2)
(98.6)
(97.6)
Income tax expense
(7.0)
(0.7)
(1.5)
Loss for the year from continuing operations
(213.1)
(99.3)
(99.1)
Loss after Income tax for the period from discontinued operations
(25.1)
(4.9)
—
Loss for the year
(238.3)
(104.2)
(99.1)
_________________________
(1)Includes share-based compensation expense of $8.2 million in 2022, $5.3 million in 2023 and $6.5 million in 2024.
Revenue
The following table shows a breakdown of our revenue in 2022, 2023 and 2024 by source:
For the year ended December 31,
2022(1)
2023(1)
2024
(in USD millions)
Marketplace revenue(2)
115.1
97.8
89.4
Third-party sales
91.9
81.6
78.8
Marketing and advertising
16.9
12.4
7.7
Value-added services
6.3
3.9
2.9
First-party sales
81.7
86.4
76.5
Platform revenue(3)
196.9
184.2
165.9
Non-platform revenue(4)
6.4
2.2
1.6
Total revenue
203.3
186.4
167.5
_________________________
(1) Third-party sales and value-added services for 2022 and 2023 have been reclassified to reflect the impact of an accounting policy change reclassifying all third-party sales presented as "Commissions", “Fulfillment” and “Value-added services” in prior periods to "Third-party sales" starting from 2024 as shown in Note 7 to our audited consolidated financial statements.
(2) Marketplace revenue is the sum of third-party sales, marketing and advertising and value-added services.
(3) Platform revenue is the sum of marketplace revenue and first-party sales.
(4) Non-platform revenue corresponds to other revenue shown in Note 24 to our audited consolidated financial statements.
Our primary sources of revenue are first-party sales and third-party sales.
Revenue decreased by 10.1% from $186.4 million in 2023 to $167.5 million in 2024, primarily due to currency devaluations and lower first-party corporate sales in Egypt.
Revenue from first-party sales decreased by 11.4% from $86.4 million in 2023 to $76.5 million in 2024, driven by lower first-party corporate sales in Egypt, and the impact of currency devaluations.
Marketplace revenue decreased by 8.7% from $97.8 million in 2023 to $89.4 million in 2024, driven by higher commissions in corporate sales to local and regional retailers, distributors and other corporate buyers in selected countries (primarily Egypt), which was offset by the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations, particularly, in the Nigerian Naira and the Egyptian Pound depreciation year-over-year.
Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue decreased by 14.3% from $79.3 million in 2023 to $68.0 million in 2024, primarily driven by the decrease in first-party sales. Cost of revenue primarily includes the purchase price of customer products sold in first-party sales. Certain expenses associated with third-party sales, such as compensation paid to sellers for lost, damaged or late delivery items, and shipping costs related to logistics services to non-sellers are also included in cost of revenue.
Gross Profit
Gross profit decreased by 7.1% from $107.1 million in 2023 to $99.5 million in 2024, mainly driven by the decrease of Revenue. Gross Profit as a percentage of GMV decreased slightly to 13.8% in 2024 compared to 14.3% in 2023.
Fulfillment Expense
Fulfillment expense decreased by 4.5% from $43.9 million in 2023 to $41.9 million in 2024, mainly driven by the effects of currency devaluation, partially offset by one-time costs associated with warehouse consolidations and the growth in Orders. On a per Order basis, excluding JumiaPay app orders, fulfillment expense decreased from $2.56 to $2.30. We continuously seek to achieve greater efficiencies in our logistics chain, while improving the quality and reliability of our service and expanding our reach beyond the main urban centers.
Sales and Advertising Expense
Sales and advertising expense decreased by 19.4% from $21.5 million in 2023 to $17.3 million in 2024, mostly as a result of a reduction in marketing expenditure in 2024 compared to 2023, as we continue our efforts to grow orders through supply enhancements rather than increasing marketing expenditure. This led to an improvement in marketing efficiency ratios with Sales and advertising expense per Order decreasing by 24.3% to $0.76 in 2024, compared to $1.01 in 2023. As a percentage of GMV, Sales and advertising expense improved from 2.9% in 2023 to 2.4% in 2024.
Technology and Content Expense
Technology and content expense decreased by 9.7% from $41.5 million in 2023 to $37.5 million in 2024, primarily due to savings from reduced staff costs. We have strategically relocated a number of our developers and tech personnel to African countries, bringing them closer to our customers and sellers. This approach allowed us to better manage costs while continuing to invest in enhancing the platform's quality and integrity.
General and Administrative Expense
General and administrative expense decreased by 6.0% from $74.4 million in 2023 to $69.9 million in 2024, driven by a reduction in several costs components, primarily staff costs, partially offset by an increase in tax expenses.
General and administrative expense included a $9.9 million tax benefit in 2024 compared to a $18.6 million tax benefit in 2023. Tax liabilities, particularly tax provisions, are expected to be utilized or released as a result of the regular tax audits in the countries where we operate. When the technical merits of our tax filings get clarified and confirmed with the tax authorities, this reduces the overall uncertainty in our tax positions, resulting in a reversal of tax expenses.
Excluding the impact of tax liabilities releases and share-based compensation, General and administrative expense was $73.2 million in 2024 compared to $87.8 millionin 2023.
Excluding share-based compensation expense, General and administrative expense decreased to $63.4 million in 2024 compared to $69.2 million in 2023. The staff costs component of General and administrative expense, excluding share-based compensation expense, decreased by 13.3% from $39.9 million in 2023 to $34.6 million in 2024, primarily due to reductions in headcount.
Operating Loss
Operating loss decreased by 10.0% from $73.3 million in 2023 to $66.0 million in 2024, primarily reflecting the impact of cost reductions over the period.
Adjusting our operating loss for depreciation and amortization and share-based compensation expense, our Adjusted EBITDA loss decreased by 11.9% from $58.2 million in 2023 to $51.3 million in 2024, in line with the reduction in the operating loss.
Finance Income
Finance income increased by 18.3% from $6.2 million in 2023 to $7.3 million in 2024, primarily due to an increase of foreign exchange gains.
Finance Costs
Finance costs increased by 23.5% from $31.5 million in 2023 to $38.9 million in 2024, primarily due to an increase of foreign exchange losses and fair value losses on financial assets at fair value through profit or loss, related to our treasury and investment portfolio management activities. These financial assets, which constitute investments in securities measured at fair value through profit or loss, incurred fair value losses of $16.2 million in 2024 compared to $13.6 million in 2023 and were disposed of during the period.
Loss before Income Tax from continuing operations
Loss before income tax from continuing operations decreased by 1.1% from $98.6 million in 2023 to $97.6 million in 2024, mostly due to cost reductions over the period.
Income Tax Expense
Income tax expense increased from $0.7 million in 2023 to $1.5 million in 2024, primarily driven by the evolution of foreign exchange gains on financial assets.
Loss for the Year from continuing operations
Loss for the year from continuing operationsdecreased by 0.2% from $99.3 million in 2023 to $99.1 million in 2024.
Constant Currency Data
We use constant currency information to provide us with a picture of underlying business dynamics, excluding currency effects. Constant currency metrics are calculated using the average monthly exchange rates for each month during 2023 and applying them to the corresponding months in 2024, so as to calculate what our results would have been had exchange rates remained stable from one year to the next. The comparative constant currency metrics are calculated using the average monthly exchange rates for each month during 2022 and applying them to the corresponding months in 2023. Constant currency information is not a measure calculated in accordance with IFRS. While we believe that constant currency information may be useful to investors in understanding and evaluating our results of operations in the same manner as our management, our use of constant currency metrics has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation, or as an alternative to, or a substitute for analysis of our financial results as reported under IFRS. Further, other companies, including companies in our industry, may report the impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates differently, which may reduce the value of our constant currency information as a comparative measure.
The following table sets forth certain unaudited constant currency data for fiscal years ended December 31, 2022, December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024.
For the year ended December 31,
As reported
YoY
As reported
Constant currency
YoY
2023
2024
Change
2023
2024
Change
(in USD millions)
GMV(2)
749.8
720.6
(3.9)
%
749.8
957.3
27.7
%
TPV(2)
192.2
195.4
1.7
%
192.2
284.7
48.1
%
Adjusted EBITDA(2)
(58.2)
(51.3)
(11.9)
%
(58.2)
(45.9)
(21.1)
%
Revenue
186.4
167.5
(10.1)
%
186.4
219.0
17.5
%
Gross Profit
107.1
99.5
(7.1)
%
107.1
131.8
23.0
%
Fulfillment expense
(43.9)
(41.9)
(4.5)
%
(43.9)
(52.8)
20.2
%
Sales and Advertising expense
(21.5)
(17.3)
(19.4)
%
(21.5)
(24.3)
13.2
%
Technology and Content expense
(41.5)
(37.5)
(9.7)
%
(41.5)
(38.8)
(6.6)
%
General and administrative expense(1)
(74.4)
(69.9)
(6.0)
%
(74.4)
(79.5)
6.8
%
Termination benefits
—
—
—
%
—
—
—
%
Operating Loss
(73.3)
(66.0)
(10.0)
%
(73.3)
(62.5)
(14.7)
%
_________________________
(1)Includes share-based compensation expense of $5.3 million in 2023 and $6.5 million in 2024. In constant currency, share-based compensation expense of $6.5 million included in 2024.
(2)Key performance indicators as defined in Item 5. "Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Key Performance Indicators."
For the year ended December 31,
As reported
YoY
As reported
Constant currency
YoY
2022
2023
Change
2022
2023
Change
(in USD millions)
GMV(2)
932.5
749.8
(19.6)
%
932.5
942.9
1.1
%
TPV(2)
256.2
192.2
(25.0)
%
256.2
263.3
2.8
%
Adjusted EBITDA(2)
(182.1)
(58.2)
(68.0)
%
(182.1)
(54.6)
(70.0)
%
Revenue
203.3
186.4
(8.3)
%
203.3
245.1
20.6
%
Gross Profit
118.2
107.1
(9.4)
%
118.2
138.2
17.0
%
Fulfillment expense
(76.8)
(43.9)
(42.8)
%
(76.8)
(55.9)
(27.2)
%
Sales and Advertising expense
(66.9)
(21.5)
(67.9)
%
(66.9)
(26.2)
(60.9)
%
Technology and Content expense
(52.4)
(41.5)
(20.8)
%
(52.4)
(42.8)
(18.4)
%
General and administrative expense(1)
(122.2)
(74.4)
(39.1)
%
(122.2)
(86.0)
(29.6)
%
Termination benefits
(3.7)
—
n.a.
(3.7)
—
n.a.
Operating Loss
(201.8)
(73.3)
(63.7)
%
(201.8)
(71.6)
(64.5)
%
_________________________
(1)Includes share-based compensation expense of $8.2 million in 2022 and $5.3 million in 2023. In constant currency, share-based compensation expense of $5.3 million included in 2023.
(2)Key performance indicators as defined in Item 5. "Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Key Performance Indicators."
The following table sets forth certain unaudited financial data for each fiscal quarter for the periods indicated. The unaudited quarterly information includes all normal recurring adjustments that we consider necessary for a fair statement of the information shown. This information should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report. Our quarterly results are not necessarily indicative of future operating results.
2023(1)
2024(1)
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
(unaudited, in USD millions)
Revenue
41.2
44.0
41.7
59.4
48.9
36.5
36.4
45.7
Cost of revenue
(16.3)
(21.1)
(19.5)
(22.3)
(17.7)
(14.9)
(13.6)
(21.8)
Gross profit
24.9
22.9
22.2
37.1
31.2
21.6
22.9
23.9
Fulfillment expense
(11.8)
(10.6)
(9.8)
(11.7)
(9.4)
(9.3)
(10.3)
(12.9)
Sales and advertising expense
(5.3)
(5.5)
(4.4)
(6.2)
(3.7)
(4.4)
(4.4)
(4.8)
Technology and content expense
(11.2)
(10.7)
(9.7)
(9.9)
(9.1)
(8.7)
(9.7)
(10.0)
General and administrative expense(2)
(25.2)
(18.5)
(16.8)
(13.9)
(17.5)
(19.2)
(18.9)
(14.3)
Other operating income
0.2
0.4
0.1
0.5
0.2
0.2
0.7
1.2
Other operating expense
—
—
—
(0.2)
(0.1)
(0.4)
(0.4)
(0.4)
Termination benefits
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Operating loss
(28.4)
(22.1)
(18.3)
(4.5)
(8.3)
(20.2)
(20.1)
(17.3)
_________________________
(1)Due to rounding, the sum of quarterly amounts may not equal the amounts reported for the relevant full-year period.
(2)Includes share-based compensation expense of $0.9 million in the first quarter of 2023, $1.3 million in the second quarter of 2023, $1.3 million in the third quarter of 2023 and $1.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Includes share-based compensation expense of $2.2 million in the first quarter of 2024, $1.7 million in the second quarter of 2024, $1.3 million in the third quarter of 2024 and $1.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The following table set forth certain key performance indicators, for each fiscal quarter for the periods indicated.
2023(1)
2024(1)
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
(unaudited, in millions)
Quarterly Active Customers(2)
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.3
1.9
2.0
2.0
2.4
Orders(2)
4.5
4.5
5.7
6.6
4.6
4.8
5.9
7.4
GMV(2)
$
173.2
$
179.2
$
164.1
$
233.3
$
181.5
$
170.1
$
162.9
$
206.1
Adjusted EBITDA(2)
$
(24.7)
$
(18.2)
$
(14.8)
$
(0.6)
$
(4.3)
$
(16.3)
$
(17.0)
$
(13.7)
_________________________
(1)Due to rounding, the sum of quarterly amounts may not equal the amounts reported for the relevant full-year period.
(2)Key performance indicators as defined in Item 5. "Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Key Performance Indicators."
B. Liquidity and Capital Resources
At December 31, 2024, we had a liquidity position of $133.9 million comprised of $55.4 million of cash and cash equivalents and $78.6 million of term deposits and other financial assets. Most of our liquid means can be freely transferred, for a small fraction of our liquid means we may need authorization or permits for a cross-border transfer.
Since our inception, we have financed our operations primarily through equity issuances. We received net proceeds of $280.2 million from our April 2019 initial public offering, a concurrent private placement with Mastercard and the issuance of shares to existing shareholders to protect them from dilution. In December 2020, we completed an equity
offering, the proceeds of which, net of commissions and expenses, amounted to $231.4 million, in March 2021, we completed an additional equity offering, raising proceeds, net of commissions and expenses, of $341.0 million and in August 2024, we completed another equity offering, raising proceeds, net of commissions and expenses, of $94.7 million. Our primary requirements for liquidity and capital are to finance working capital, capital expenditures, which primarily consist of computer equipment, office equipment and lease-hold improvements, as well as general corporate purposes. We believe, based on our current operating plan, that our existing cash and cash equivalents and cash flows from operating activities will be sufficient to meet our anticipated cash needs for working capital, capital expenditures, general corporate needs and business expansion for at least the next twelve months. However, external effects may also negatively affect our growth trajectory. For example, our local sellers, some of whom rely on imports for supply, may be negatively affected by global supply chain disruptions. Curtailed access to supply for our local sellers may negatively affect the breadth of assortment on our platform which in turn may affect the overall performance of the business and result in a decrease in cash flows from operating activities. Hence, although we believe that we have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to cover our working capital needs in the ordinary course of business and to continue to expand our business, we may, from time to time, explore additional financing sources to cover our long-term financing needs.
Impact of inflation
In 2024, inflation indicators were elevated in a number of countries in which we operate, for example the consumer price index (“CPI”) year-over-year increases in December 2024 amounted to 35% in Nigeria, 24% in Egypt and 24%in Ghana, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of Nigeria, Central Bank of Egypt and IMF data, respectively. Inflationary pressure and currency devaluations are further exacerbated by regional conflicts with notable exposures in a number of African countries such as Egypt that engage in trading activities with one or more of the parties involved in a regional conflict. Overall, inflation levels are expected to remain elevated throughout 2025.
In the countries in which we operate, higher inflation rates have been putting significant pressure on consumer sentiment and spending power, while affecting our sellers’ ability to import and source goods. In 2024, challenges on both the supply and demand fronts negatively affected the performance of our usage indicators, GMV, Orders and Quarterly Active Customers. On the cost front, while we are experiencing inflation pressure on wages, utility and fuel, we are implementing a number of efficiency initiatives across the cost structure to mitigate inflation impact and drive cost reduction.
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
For the year ended December 31,
2022
2023
2024
(in USD millions)
Net cash flows used in operating activities
(240.2)
(73.0)
(57.2)
Net cash flows (used in) / from investing activities
212.2
62.5
(10.4)
Net cash flows (used in) / from financing activities
(8.8)
(7.4)
89.5
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents
(36.7)
(17.9)
21.9
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
(8.8)
(18.2)
(2.0)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
117.1
71.6
35.5
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year
71.6
35.5
55.4
Net Cash Flows used in Operating Activities
Net cash used in operating activities decreased by 21.6% from a cash outflow of $73.0 million in 2023 to a cash outflow of $57.2 million in 2024, primarily driven cost reduction initiatives partially offset by an increase in working capital. An increase in accounts receivable and inventories, and a decrease in accounts payable led to a net working capital increase of $1.5 million in 2024 compared to a net working capital decrease of $8.6 million in 2023.
Net Cash Flows from Investing Activities
Net cash flows used in investing activities changed to a cash outflow of $10.4 million from a cash inflow of $62.5 million in 2023, mainly related to the maturing, and selling of, financial investments during 2024 in the amount of $21.5
million (2023: $59.1 million), partially offset by the placement of a short-term bank deposit in the amount of $30 million (2023: nil).
Net Cash Flows used in Financing Activities
Net cash flows from financing activities showed a cash inflow of $89.5 million in 2024 compared to a cash outflow in 2023 of $7.4 million In 2024, we recorded the proceeds from our equity offering completed in August 2024. The net proceeds from the offering were $94.7 million after accounting for all equity transaction costs (2023: nil).
Contractual Obligations
Below is a summary of short-term and long-term anticipated cash requirements as of December 31, 2024:
Payments due by period
(in USD thousands)
Less than one year
More than one year
Leases
4,333
7,260
Purchase obligations
53,416
43,630
Tax payables
14,863
1,626
Total
72,612
52,516
Purchase obligations relate primarily to trade payables, accrued employee benefits and other third-party agreements.
C. Research and Development, Patents and Licenses, Etc.
We continuously invest in our technology and data collection and analytics capabilities. Our technology centers in Porto, Portugal and in Cairo, Egypt provide the centralized and harmonized technology backbone for our operations across our three regions. Our research and development activities focus on the production, maintenance and operation of new and existing goods and services. We see our technology and content expense as an investment in future growth and seller and customer experience and satisfaction. Going forward, we intend to maintain or increase our investments into our technology and data capabilities.
D. Trend Information
See Item 4. “Information on the Company—B. Business Overview."
E. Critical Accounting Estimates and Judgments
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements requires our management to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of revenues, expense, assets and liabilities, and the accompanying disclosures, including disclosure of contingent liabilities. Uncertainty about these assumptions and estimates could result in outcomes that require a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets or liabilities affected in future periods. For more information on our critical accounting estimates and judgments, see Note 3 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
Judgments
In the process of applying our accounting policies, our management has made the following judgments. These judgments have the most significant effect on the amounts recognized in the consolidated financial statements:
Climate change
Up to now, we have not been significantly impacted by climate change, and, currently, we have not considered the climate-related risks as part of our top key risks. Nevertheless, we will continue monitoring every year the potential risks resulting from the effects of climate change. So far, we have not identified nor considered any material impacts of climate change on assumptions used and, on our financial reporting (e.g. provisions, fixed assets, etc.).
Determining the lease term of contracts with renewal and termination options – Group as lessee
We determine the lease term as the non-cancellable term of the lease, together with any periods covered by an option to extend the lease if it is reasonably certain to be exercised, or any periods covered by an option to terminate the lease, if it is reasonably certain not to be exercised.
We have several lease contracts that include extension and termination options. We apply judgement in evaluating whether it is reasonably certain whether or not to exercise the option to renew or terminate the lease. That is, we consider all relevant factors that create an economic incentive for us to exercise either the renewal or termination. After the commencement date, we reassess the lease term if there is a significant event or change in circumstances that is within our control and affects our ability to exercise or not to exercise the option to renew or to terminate (e.g., construction of significant leasehold improvements or significant customization to the leased asset).
We have several lease contracts that include extension and termination options. These options are negotiated by management to align with our business needs.
We have assessed potential future rental payments relating to periods following the exercise date of extension and termination options that are not included in the lease term, and determined that there are no significant extension options expected not to be exercised nor significant termination options expected to be exercised.
Revenue from contracts with customers
We applied the following judgements that significantly affect the determination of the amount of revenue from contracts with customers:
Principal versus agent considerations
We enter into contracts where we act as a seller and determine the price and bear the obligation to deliver those goods to the customer. Under these contracts, we determine that we control the goods before they are transferred to customers and hence are a principal. Additionally, in cases where we enter into transactions wherein we provide marketing services, we are obliged to render the services as well as have the discretion to set the price, and hence are considered as a principal in such transactions.
In cases where we enter into a contract that provides the selling platform to sellers to sell goods and services to customers, we have no discretion in setting the price and have no inventory risk and hence are considered to be the agent in such transactions. The fulfillment services are seen as activities to fulfill the promise to transfer the goods to customers. The sale and the delivery services together constitute a single performance obligation.
Classification and presentation of other financial assets
We acquired investment grade bonds managed via a discretionary fund and securities. These investments are included in the statement of financial position as other financial assets. Investments in securities are fully disposed of in 2023, with those held in 2024 also fully disposed of within the period. Further details can be found in Note 13 and 29 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
Based on the terms of the discretionary fund agreement, we determine ourselves to be the principal in holding the investments in the bonds, which, as set out in the investment parameters, are held under a “hold to collect and sell” business model. The investments held via the discretionary fund are directly recognized by us and classified as financial assets measured at fair value through other comprehensive income.
The amounts of other financial assets are presented as current whenever maturity of the investments is within 12 months of the reporting date or if we expect to sell the asset within 12 months.
The effects of ongoing regional conflicts have required reassessment of significant judgments and estimates to be made, including but not limited to:
•Estimates of net realizable value (NRV) of inventory may be subject to more estimation uncertainty than in the past, and determining the appropriate assumptions may require significant judgment; and
•Estimates of expected credit losses (ECL) attributable to accounts receivable arising from sales to customers on credit terms, including the incorporation of forward-looking information to supplement historical credit loss rates.
The Group has assessed that the ongoing regional conflicts did not have a significant impact on estimates and judgments. The Group continues to assess potential impact on an ongoing basis, more particularly as it relates to ECL and NRV provisions.
Provisions for income taxes, uncertain tax positions and related contingent liabilities
We operate in certain countries where the application of tax rules to complex transactions is sometimes open to interpretation, both by us and taxation authorities. Tax systems, regulations and enforcement processes also have varying stages of development creating uncertainty regarding application of tax law and interpretation of tax treatments. We are also subject to regular tax audits in the countries where we operate. When there is uncertainty over whether the taxation authority will accept a specific tax treatment under the local tax law, that tax treatment is considered uncertain. The resolution of tax positions taken by us, through negotiations with relevant tax authorities or through litigation, can take several years to complete and, in some cases, it is difficult to predict the ultimate outcome. Therefore, Management’s estimate is required to determine provisions for taxes.
Uncertain tax positions are assessed and reviewed by management at the end of each reporting period. Liabilities are recorded for tax positions that are determined by management as more likely than not to result in additional taxes being levied if the positions were to be challenged by the tax authorities. The assessment relies on estimates and assumptions and may involve a series of judgments about future events. These judgments are based on the interpretation of tax laws that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the end of the reporting period, and any known court or other rulings on such issues. Liabilities for penalties, interest and taxes are recognized based on management’s best estimate of the expenditure required to settle the obligations at the end of the reporting period. Management’s best estimate of the amount to be provided is determined by their judgment and, in some cases, reports from independent experts. Further details can be found in Notes 3, 22, 30 and 35 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
Impairment of trade and other receivables
We apply the IFRS 9 simplified approach to measuring expected credit losses (ECL), which uses a lifetime expected loss allowance for all trade receivables. The estimated ECL are calculated based on actual credit loss experience over a period that, per business, countries and type of customers, is considered statistically relevant and representative of the specific characteristics of the underlying credit risk.
Using the practical expedient that is allowed by the standard, we have established provision matrices that are based on our historical credit loss experience for the previous years, adjusted for non-recurring events and for forward-looking factors per country, which incorporated several macroeconomic elements such as the countries’ GDP and unemployment rates. The expected loss rates are reviewed annually, or when there is a significant change in external factors potentially impacting credit risk, and are updated where management’s expectations of credit losses change.
Generally, trade receivables are written-off if past due for more than one year and are not subject to enforcement activity under credit risk.
Quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk
We are exposed to a variety of risks in the ordinary course of our business, including, but not limited to, foreign currency risk, interest rate risk on other financial assets and securities price risk on other financial assets. We regularly assess each of these risks to minimize any adverse effects on our business as a result of those factors. For discussion and sensitivity analyses of our exposure to these risks, see Note 34 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees
A. Directors and Management
Overview
We are a German stock corporation (Aktiengesellschaft or AG) with registered seat in Germany. We are subject to German legislation on stock corporations, most importantly the German Stock Corporation Act (Aktiengesetz). In accordance with the German Stock Corporation Act, our corporate bodies are the management board (Vorstand), the supervisory board (Aufsichtsrat) and the shareholders’ meeting (Hauptversammlung). Our management and supervisory boards are entirely separate and, as a rule, no individual may simultaneously be a member of both boards.
Our management board is responsible for the day-to-day management of our business in accordance with applicable laws, our articles of association (Satzung) and the management board’s internal rules of procedure (Geschäftsordnung). Our management board represents us in our dealings with third parties. The authority to direct the Company is vested in the management board by applicable laws.
The principal function of our supervisory board is to supervise our management board. The supervisory board is also responsible for appointing and removing the members of our management board and determining their remuneration, representing us in connection with transactions between a current or former member of the management board and us, and granting approvals for certain significant matters. The supervisory board is not permitted to make management decisions and, unlike the management board, the supervisory board does not have the authority to direct the Company. As a result, the supervisory board is not the equivalent of a board of directors in the United States.
Our management board and our supervisory board are solely responsible for and manage their own areas of competency (Kompetenztrennung); therefore, neither board may make decisions that, pursuant to applicable law, our articles of association or the internal rules of procedure, are the responsibility of the other board. Members of both boards owe a duty of loyalty and care to us. In carrying out their duties, they are required to exercise the standard of care of a prudent and diligent businessperson. If they fail to observe the appropriate standard of care, they may become liable to us.
In carrying out their duties, the members of both boards must take into account a broad range of considerations when making decisions, including our interests and the interests of our shareholders, employees, creditors and, to a limited extent, the general public, while respecting the rights of our shareholders to be treated on equal terms. Additionally, the management board is responsible for implementing an internal control and risk management system that is effective and appropriate for the scope of our business activities and our risk situation.
Our supervisory board has comprehensive monitoring responsibilities. To ensure that our supervisory board can carry out these functions properly, our management board must, among other duties, regularly report to our supervisory board regarding our current business operations and future business planning (including financial, investment and personnel planning). In addition, our supervisory board or any of its members is entitled to request special reports from the management board on all matters regarding the Company, our legal and business relations with affiliated companies and any business transactions and matters at such affiliated companies that may have a significant impact on our position at any time.
Under German law, our shareholders have no direct recourse against the members of our management board or the members of our supervisory board if they are believed to have breached their duty of loyalty and care to us. Apart from insolvency or other special circumstances, only we have the right to claim damages against the members of our two boards.
We may waive these claims to damages or settle these claims only if at least three years have passed since a claim associated with any violation of a duty has arisen and only if our shareholders approve the waiver or settlement at a shareholders’ meeting with a simple majority of the votes cast; provided that no shareholders who in the aggregate hold one-tenth or more of our share capital oppose the waiver or settlement and have their opposition formally recorded in the meeting’s minutes maintained by a German civil law notary.
Supervisory Board
German law requires that the supervisory board consists of at least three members, whereby the articles of association may stipulate a certain higher number. Our supervisory board currently consists of five members. German law
further requires the number of supervisory board members to be divisible by three if this is necessary for the fulfillment of workers’ co-determination requirements. This does not apply to us as we are currently not subject to co-determination. As we grow, this may change and our supervisory board may be required to include employee representatives subject to the provisions of the German One-Third Employee Representation Act (Drittelbeteiligungsgesetz), which applies to companies that have at least 500 employees, and the German Codetermination Act (Mitbestimmungsgesetz), which applies to companies that have at least 2,000 employees. In case the German Codetermination Act (Mitbestimmungsgesetz) applies to a company, at least 30% of the supervisory board members must be women and at least 30% of the members must be men. This currently does not apply to us.
The supervisory board has set certain targets for the composition of the supervisory board, including:
•at least 40.0% female members serving on our supervisory board by December 31, 2024 and
•an age limit of seventy years at the time of appointment.,
The members of our supervisory board are elected by the shareholders’ meeting in accordance with the provisions of the German Stock Corporation Act (Aktiengesetz). German law does not require the majority of our supervisory board members to be independent and neither our articles of association nor the rules of procedure for our supervisory board provide otherwise. However, the rules of procedure for our supervisory board provide that the supervisory board shall, taken as a whole, comprise of, in its own estimation, an adequate number of independent members. In addition, the rules of procedure of our audit committee set forth that all members of that committee shall be independent.
Under German law, a member of a supervisory board may be elected for a maximum term of up to approximately five years, depending on the date of the shareholders’ meeting at which such member is elected. Re-election, including repeated re-election, is permissible. However, the rules of procedure of our supervisory board stipulate that persons having been a member of our supervisory board for 12 years or longer should not be proposed to the shareholders’ meeting for re-election. The shareholders’ meeting may specify a term of office for individual members or all the members of our supervisory board, which is shorter than the standard term of office and, subject to statutory limits, may set different start and end dates for the terms of members of our supervisory board.
The shareholders’ meeting may, at the same time as it elects the members of the supervisory board, elect one or more substitute members. The substitute members replace members who cease to be members of our supervisory board and take their place for the remainder of their respective terms of office. Currently, no substitute members have been elected or have been proposed to be elected.
Members of our supervisory board may be dismissed at any time during their term of office by a resolution of the shareholders’ meeting adopted by at least a simple majority of the votes cast. In addition, any member of our supervisory board may resign at any time by giving one month’s written notice of his or her resignation to the chairperson of our supervisory board (in case the chairperson resigns, such notice is to be given to the deputy chairperson) or to the management board. The management board, the chairperson of our supervisory board or in case of a resignation by the chairperson, his/her deputy may agree upon a shorter notice period.
Our supervisory board elects a chairperson and a deputy chairperson from its members. The deputy chairperson exercises the chairperson’s rights and obligations whenever the chairperson is unable to do so. The members of our supervisory board have elected Jonathan D. Klein as chairperson and Anne Eriksson as deputy chairperson, each for the term of their respective membership on our supervisory board. Our supervisory board considers each of Jonathan D. Klein and Anne Eriksson to be independent.
The supervisory board meets at least twice during the first half and twice during the second half of each calendar year. Our articles of association and the supervisory board’s rules of procedure provide that a quorum of the supervisory board members is present if at least half of its members participate in the vote. Members of our supervisory board are deemed present if they participate via telephone or other electronic means of communication (especially via video conference) or abstain from voting unless the chairperson issues an order deviating therefrom. Any absent member may also participate in the voting by submitting his or her written vote through another member.
Resolutions of our supervisory board are passed by the vote of a simple majority of the votes cast unless otherwise required by law, our articles of association or the rules of procedure of our supervisory board. In the event of a tie, the chairperson of the supervisory board has the casting vote. Our supervisory board is not permitted to make management
decisions, but, in accordance with German law and in addition to its statutory responsibilities, it has determined that certain matters require its prior consent, including:
•material modification of the fields of business of our company and the termination of existing and commencement of new fields of business;
•change of our company’s tax residence, registered office or principal place of business or change of the legal form;
•disposition of any of the “Jumia” word marks or any other word and figurative marks currently owned by our company;
•adoption, amendment or rescission of the combined annual business plan for our company including the related investment, budget and financial planning;
•entering into credit or loan agreements or other financing agreements as a borrower in excess of €5.0 million in the individual case as well as changes to our credit line in excess of €5.0 million;
•granting of loans (i) in excess of €1.0 million in the individual case or €2.0 million in the aggregate per year (excluding loans to majority-owned companies or loans granted in the ordinary course of business, e.g., to suppliers or landlords) or (ii) to employees in excess of €100,000 in the individual case excluding wage and salary advances;
•individual investments in fixed assets exceeding €4.0 million in the individual case or exceeding the agreed annual investment budget by more than €8.0 million in total;
•granting of collateral, pledge or transfer as security of assets of our company, assumption or taking over of guarantees or similar liabilities or of sureties or personal guarantees, payment guarantees and of any and all obligations similar to personal guarantees (bürgschaftsähnliche Verpflichtungen), issuance of letters of comfort (Patronatserklärungen) as well as issuance of notes payable (Eingehen von Wechselverbindlichkeiten) in excess of an amount of €7.0 million or outside the ordinary course of business, provided, however, that statutory and/or customary securities and/or liabilities of the aforementioned kind (e.g. lessor’s lien, liens in connection with commercial loan insurances, retention of title, custom and tax deposits, etc.) or securities and/or liabilities for the benefit of majority-owned companies shall always be considered as inside the ordinary course of business;
•futures transactions concerning currencies, securities and exchange traded goods and rights as well as other transactions with derivative financial instruments in excess of €2.0 million and made outside the ordinary course of business, provided, however, that hedging transactions to limit corresponding risks shall always be in the ordinary course of business;
•acquisition or disposal of operational subsidiaries or enterprises, including joint ventures, participations in enterprises or independent divisions of a business, other than the acquisition of shelf companies, exceeding an amount of €1.0 million in the individual case or €2.5 million in total on an annual basis;
•capital measures in companies in which an interest is held, provided that third parties participate in such capital measure and that such third parties pay more than €3.5 million for the subscription of the shares;
•encumbrance of shares, if such shares secure a claim of more than €7.0 million, as well as liquidation of companies;
•material changes to the business of a subsidiary which accounts for at least €2.0 million in terms of total assets, revenues or gross profit;
•introduction and amendment of an employee incentive system involving the granting of shares in our company or virtual shares, or other share price-related incentives;
•execution, amendment or termination of agreements with definitively committed payment obligations exceeding €8.0 million unless specifically provided for in an approved business plan, in which case an approval is only required in case the payment obligations exceed €12.0 million;
•initiation or termination of court cases or arbitration proceedings involving an amount in controversy greater than €1.0 million in the individual case;
•conclusion, amendment or termination of enterprise agreements pursuant to Sections 291 et seqq. of the German Stock Corporation Act (Aktiengesetz); and
•business dealings of our company or its subsidiaries on the one side and a major shareholder or a party related to such major shareholder on the other side, except for (i) transactions that do not exceed (individually or together with related or similar transactions) a market value of €200,000 and (ii) the purchase of merchandise, services and licenses in the ordinary course of business of our company at arm’s length terms.
Our supervisory board last updated this list on November 5, 2022 and may further amend the list or designate further types of actions as requiring its approval.
The following table sets forth the names and functions of the current members of our supervisory board, their ages, their terms (which expire on the date of the relevant year’s general shareholders’ meeting) and their principal occupations outside of our Company:
Name
Age
Term expires
Principal occupation
Jonathan D. Klein
63
2026
Co-Founder & Member of the Board, Getty Images
Anne Eriksson
65
2026
Non-Executive Director on various boards
Blaise Judja-Sato
59
2026
Founder, VillageReach; Founder, Resilience Trust
Angela Kaya Mwanza
53
2026
Managing Director, Private Advisor, Rockefeller Capital Management
Pierre-Yves Calloc'h
49
2026
Chief Digital Officer, Pernod Ricard
Angela Kaya Mwanza was reappointed to the supervisory board by the annual shareholders' meeting of June 27, 2024.
The business address of the members of our supervisory board is the same as our business address: Skalitzer Straße 104, 10997 Berlin, Germany.
The following is a brief summary of the prior business experience of the members of our supervisory board:
Jonathan D. Klein has been an independent member and the chairman of our supervisory board since January 2019. Mr. Klein is the co-founder of Getty Images and served as the chief executive officer of Getty Images for over 20 years, prior to becoming its chairman in 2015. Mr. Klein currently serves as a member of the board of directors for several other institutions including Etsy, Bloom & Wild, The New Press and the Committee to Protect Journalists. Mr. Klein also served as executive-in-residence/catalyst advisor at General Catalyst until June 2023. Mr. Klein is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations. He received his master’s degree in law from the University of Cambridge.
Pierre-Yves Calloc´hhas been an independent member of our supervisory board since August 2023. Mr. Calloc´h has been Chief Digital Officer of wine & spirits group Pernod Ricard since 2020. After leading digital marketing and e-commerce acceleration including M&A of marketplace and e-business players, he currently leads business innovation and deployment of AI at scale. With an engineering degree from École Polytechnique, he started his career at KPMG consulting on B2B e-commerce and SAP for retail practice, then joined Gérard Darel fashion group, before joining Pernod Ricard in 2003, as CIO for France. After various IT leading positions, he became Managing Director of Pernod Ricard affiliates in Colombia and Venezuela based in Bogota until 2017. Mr. Calloc´h has been a mentor for Endeavor Latin America.
Anne Eriksson has been an independent member of our supervisory board since June 2021. Ms. Eriksson serves as a non-executive director on the boards and chairs the audit committee of the EASE Holding BV and RAXIO Group
respectively. Ms. Eriksson also serves on the board of trustees of M-PESA Foundation. In addition, Ms. Eriksson is an independent member of the audit, finance, and risk committee of CGIAR. Ms Eriksson has previously served on the board and chaired the audit committee of KCB Group Plc in addition to serving on the boards of two of its subsidiaries. She also previously served as non-executive director and chaired the audit committee of Africa Asset Finance Corporation. Other previous roles include serving as an independent member and chair of the audit committee of the Africa Local Currency Bond Fund, and as an independent chair of the investment committee of Catalyst Fund. Anne retired from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in 2018, where she was the Regional Senior Partner and CEO for Eastern Africa and Senior Country Partner Kenya. Her previous roles at PwC included leading the assurance practice, with responsibility for both East and West Africa. She worked for PwC for 40 years, 31 years as a partner and is widely recognized as one of Africa’s leading professionals in the industry. Anne holds an MBA with Distinction from the University of Warwick and is a Fellow of the Association of Certified and Chartered Accountants (FCCA) and a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Accountants of Kenya (FCPA).
Blaise Judja-Sato has been an independent member of our supervisory board since January 2019. Mr. Judja-Sato also serves on the board of directors at Grassroot Soccer and from 2022 to 2023 chaired the compensation committee and served on the audit committee at Leafly Holdings, Inc. He is an award-winning leader in the fields of technology, innovation, and social impact. He partners with governments, investors, founders, and management teams using technology to address global challenges and create opportunities for all. He founded VillageReach and Resilience Trust in 2000 and 2015 respectively. From 2009 2015, he served as executive director at the International Telecommunication Union (United Nations specialized agency for information and communications technology), founder and president of the Nelson Mandela Foundation USA from 2000 to 2012, co-head of global development initiatives at Google from 2006 to 2007, director of international business development at Teledesic Corporation from 1996 to 2002, regional managing director at AT&T International from 1994 to 1996, and senior consultant at Andersen Consulting (Accenture) from 1998 to 1992. He received an MBA from The Wharton School, a master’s degree in engineering from Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Paris, and a master’s degree in mathematics from University of Montpellier.
Angela Kaya Mwanza has been an independent member of our supervisory board since March 2019. Ms. Mwanza is a Managing Director, Private Advisor at Rockefeller Capital Management and was formerly a co-founder of Evergreen Wealth Management at UBS Private Wealth Management. She serves on the boards of Grace Farms Foundation, Pharrell’s Yellow, Project Drawdown, and is the Chair of the Cornell College of Business. Ms. Mwanza is a leader in the field of Private Wealth Management and a thought leader in the field of responsible investing. She was named one of the “46 Leaders in Sustainable Investing (Who are Also Women)” by Forbes, received the “Women of Power & Influence Award” by the National Organization of Women, and was named one of “50 Most Influential Women in Private Wealth” by Private Asset Management Magazine. She is a frequent contributor in the global financial press, including appearances on Bloomberg and CNBC. She earned her M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Konstanz in Germany, and she holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) From Cornell University.
Management Board and Senior Management
Management Board
Pursuant to our articles of association, our management board consists of one or several members. Our supervisory board determines the exact number of members of our management board. The supervisory board may appoint one or several chairpersons and a deputy chairperson or a speaker of the management board. At present, our management board consists of two members.
The members of our management board are appointed by our supervisory board for a term of up to five years. They are eligible for reappointment or extension, including repeated re-appointment and extension, in each case again for up to an additional five years. Prior to the expiration of his or her term, a management board member may only be removed from office by our supervisory board for cause. Examples of cause include a serious breach of duty by a member of the management board, the inability of a member of the management board to perform his or her duties or a vote of no confidence by the shareholders in a shareholders’ meeting.
The members of our management board conduct the daily business of our company in accordance with applicable laws, our articles of association and the rules of procedure for the management board adopted by our supervisory board. They are generally responsible for the management of our company and for handling our daily business relations with third
parties, the internal organization of our business and communications with our shareholders. In addition, the management board is primarily responsible for:
•preparing our annual financial statements;
•proposing to our shareholders’ meeting on how our profits (if any) should be allocated; and
•regularly reporting to the supervisory board on our current operating and financial performance, our budgeting and planning processes and our performance under them, and on future business planning (including strategic, financial, investment and personnel planning).
A member of the management board may not deal with or vote on matters relating to proposals, arrangements or contractual agreements between himself or herself and our company and may be liable to us if he or she has a material interest in any contractual agreement between our company and a third-party which is not disclosed to and approved by our supervisory board.
The rules of procedure for our management board provide that certain matters require a resolution of the entire management board, in addition to transactions for which a resolution adopted by the entire management board is required by law or required by our articles of association. In particular, the entire management board shall decide on, among others:
•the strategy of our company, fundamental issues of the business policy and any other matters, especially national or international business relations, which are of special importance and scope for the Company;
•the annual and multi-year business planning for our company, and in particular the related investment and financial planning;
•the preparation of the annual financial statements and the management report, the consolidated financial statements and the group management report, as well as semi-annual and quarterly financial reports, interim announcements and other comparable reports;
•convening of our shareholders’ meetings and proposed resolutions of the management board to be submitted to the shareholders’ meeting for a resolution;
•the periodic reporting to the supervisory board;
•matters which require the approval of our supervisory board pursuant to the rules of procedure of the management board;
•matters which impact more than one member of the management board’s area of responsibility; and
•fundamental issues relating to personnel matters.
Members of our Management Board
The following table sets forth the names and functions of the current members of our management board, their ages and their terms:
Name
Age
Term ends
Principal occupation
Francis Dufay
38
November 4, 2025
Chief Executive Officer
Antoine Maillet-Mezeray
55
November 4, 2025
Executive Vice President, Finance & Operations
The business address of the members of our management board is the same as our business address: Skalitzer Straße 104, 10997 Berlin, Germany.
With approval of the supervisory board, on October 31, 2023, we entered into new service agreements with the members of the management board. The management board term for both Francis Dufay and Antoine Maillet-Mezeray will expire under the current service agreements on November 4, 2025.
The following is a brief summary of the business experience of the members of our management board:
Francis Dufay was appointed as a member of our management board in 2022. Hehas been with the Company since 2014 and has held multiple senior leadership roles, including CEO of Ivory Coast and Executive Vice President Africa with responsibility for the group’s e-commerce business across Africa. Before joining Jumia, Francis worked in Brussels (Belgium) for McKinsey & Company (2009-2014) where he managed projects in Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa, focused on e-commerce and retail, as well as public sector & economic development.
Antoine Maillet-Mezeraywas appointed as a member of our management board in 2022. He joined our company in 2016 and served as our chief financial officer until his appointment as member of our management board in November 2022. Mr. Maillet-Mezeray began his career with Mazars, where he worked as an auditor from 1994 to 1997. From 1997 to 2015, Mr. Maillet-Mezeray worked for several technology companies as either chief executive officer or chief financial officer, in which roles he built and led finance teams with significant operating scale and complexity. Mr. Maillet-Mezeray holds a master’s degree in finance from Neoma Business School in France as well as a master’s degree in philosophy.
We set out below the amount of compensation paid and benefits in kind provided by us or our subsidiaries to our supervisory board members and our management board members for services in all capacities to us or our subsidiaries for the year ended December 31, 2024, as well as the amount contributed by us or our subsidiaries to retirement benefit plans for our supervisory board members and management board members.
Compensation of Supervisory Board Members
Under mandatory German law, the compensation of the supervisory board of a German stock corporation (Aktiengesellschaft) is determined by the annual general meeting. In the annual general meeting held on August 14, 2023, our shareholders resolved the following compensation system:
•Ordinary members of the supervisory board and the deputy chairperson of the supervisory board receive a fixed compensation in the amount of $125,000 per annum. The chairperson of the supervisory board receives a fixed compensation in the amount of $250,000 per annum.
•The chairperson of the audit committee receives an additional fixed compensation of $90,000 per annum and any other member of the audit committee an additional fixed compensation in the amount of $75,000 per annum.
•The chairperson of the compensation committee receives an additional fixed compensation of $40,000 per annum and any other member of the compensation committee an additional compensation in the amount of $20,000 per annum.
•The chairperson of the corporate governance and nomination committee receives an additional fixed compensation of $20,000 per annum and any other member of the corporate governance and nomination committee an additional compensation in the amount of $12,000 per annum.
•We do not pay fees for attendance at supervisory board or committee meetings.
•The members of the supervisory board are entitled to reimbursement of their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as supervisory board members as well as the value-added tax on their compensation and out-of-pocket expenses.
•The members of the supervisory board are included in our company’s D&O insurance.
The following table shows the compensation for the members of our supervisory board for 2024 and 2023:
Base compensation
Committee membership(1)
Committee compensation
Total compensation
Base compensation
Committee compensation
Total compensation
2024(1)
2023(1)
Name
in $(3)
thousand
in %
Audit
Comp.
CG & Nom.
in $(3)
thousand
in %
in $(3)
thousand
in $(3)
thousand
in %
in $(3)
thousand
in %
in $(3)
thousand
Jonathan D. Klein (Chairman)
250
93
M
18
7
268
247
81
58
19
305
John H. Rittenhouse (until August 14, 2023)
—
—
—
—
—
72
54
62
46
134
Gilles Bogaert4 (until May 23, 2023)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Anne Eriksson
125
55
C
M
102
45
227
117
57
90
43
207
Andre Iguodala (until June 30, 2023)
—
—
—
—
—
54
68
25
32
79
Blaise Judja-Sato
125
52
M
C
C
118
48
243
117
47
130
53
247
Angela Kay Mwanza (Vice Chairman)
125
67
M
M
M
63
33
188
117
56
92
44
209
Aminata Ndiaye5 (until August 14, 2023)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Pierre-Yves Calloc'h (since August 14, 2023)
125
87
M
19
13
145
42
87
6
13
49
Elizabeth J. Huebner (from August 14, 2023 to September 13, 2024)
89
57
M
M
67
43
156
42
57
31
43
74
_________________________
(1)Audit committee, compensation committee and corporate governance and nominations committee. “C” means chairperson, “M” means member.
(2)Committee membership since October 1, 2024.
(3)Amounts converted to USD using the average exchange rate of each corresponding period, when applicable.
(4)Gilles Bogaert waived his full compensation in 2023.
(5)Aminata Ndiaye waived her compensation in 2023.
Jonathan D. Klein, Blaise Judja-Sato and Pierre-Yves Calloc'h are the only members of our supervisory board who beneficially own ordinary shares / ADS of our company. As of February 1, 2025, Mr. Klein held 173,585 ADS, Mr. Judja-Sato held 16,000 ADS and Mr. Calloc'h held 14,000 ADS.
Compensation of the Members of our Management Board
Pursuant to section 120a(1) sentence 1 of the German Stock Corporation Act, our shareholders must approve a remuneration system for the members of our management board as proposed by our supervisory board at least every four years. Our shareholders approved our management board remuneration system at our July 2022 annual general meeting.
The compensation system for our management board has been set with a view to promoting our corporate strategy and long-term development. It has both fixed and variable components. The compensation system for members of our management board is summarized below:
Our core strategy is focused on both growth, which includes the goal to gain a leadership position across markets, to increase the number of sellers on our platform and to build for the long-term, and cost discipline, which includes the goal to reduce operating losses meaningfully in the near- and mid-term. Management board compensation takes into account our GMV development. An increase in GMV implies an increase in the usage of our marketplace and is an indicator for our growth. We also place high value on stabilizing the Group and managing costs to strengthen long-term development of our business. Therefore, a profitability measure is implemented in the long-term variable compensation component (Adjusted EBITDA). All elements of our strategy contribute to our value and hence will be reflected in the share price.
We have entered into service agreements with the members of our management board. These agreements generally provide for non-performance-based, i.e. fixed, and performance-based, i.e. variable, compensation components. The fixed compensation component includes the base salary and fringe benefits, while the variable compensation component includes virtual restricted stock units. In addition to these fixed and variable compensation components under the terms of their service agreements, the members of our management board are entitled to specific insurance benefits (including accident and directors’ and officers’ insurance) and reimbursement of necessary and reasonable disbursements.
We believe that the agreements between us and the members of our management board provide for payments and benefits (including upon termination of employment) that are in line with customary market practice.
Each year, we publish a compensation report that complies with the legal requirements of Section 162 of the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG).
Total Target Compensation for our Management Board
The target compensation of the members of our management board includes a base salary as well as variable and other compensation. Target compensation refers to the fair value of each compensation component at the time each component is granted.
The following table shows the target compensation for each member of the management board in 2024 and 2023. Fringe benefits represent expenses in the relevant year:
Francis Dufay CEO
Antoine Maillet-Mezeray EVP Finance and Operations
2024
2023
2024
2023
Name
in $(1)
thousand
in %
in $(1)
thousand
in %
in $(1)
thousand
in %
in $(1)
thousand
in %
Base salary
473
43
381
38
472
43
389
38
Fringe benefits(2)
—
—
5
—
—
—
4
—
Sum fixed compensation
473
43
386
38
472
43
394
39
Short-Term Incentive
279
26
279
28
279
26
279
28
Virtual Restricted Stock Unit Program 2021
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Virtual Restricted Stock Unit Program 2023
279
26
279
28
279
26
279
28
Long-Term Incentive
342
31
342
34
342
31
342
34
Virtual Restricted Stock Unit Program 2021
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Virtual Restricted Stock Unit Program 2023
342
31
342
34
342
31
342
34
Sum variable compensation
621
57
621
62
621
57
621
61
Total target compensation
1,094
100
1,007
100
1,093
100
1,014
100
_________________________
(1)Amounts converted to USD using the average exchange rate of each corresponding period, when applicable
(2)Fringe benefits primarily include contributions to market-standard insurance, such as health and nursing care insurance for the management board member and his/her family, and accident insurance. We also reimburse each management board member for expenses incurred in the course of the due performance of his duties and grant an education allowance for eligible dependent children. Finally, we include the management board member in our D&O insurance.
There are no pension commitments or retirement benefit agreements.
Total Compensation Awarded and Due to our Current Management Board
Compensation awarded and due refers to the value of each compensation component when settled (in the case of virtual restricted stock units).
The tables below show the compensation awarded and due to the members of the management board in 2024 and 2023. The tables show total fixed compensation, including the base salary paid out and the expenses of the fringe benefits
in 2024 and 2023, as well as total variable compensation, including virtual restricted stock units that vested and became awarded and due in 2024 and 2023:
Management Board members
Francis Dufay CEO
Antoine Maillet-Mezeray EVP Finance and Operations
2024
2023
2024
2023
Name
in $(1)
thousand
in %
in $(1)
thousand
in %
in $(1)
thousand
in %
in $(1)
thousand
in %
Base salary
473
62
381
84
472
66
389
90
Fringe benefits(2)
—
—
5
1
—
—
4
1
Sum fixed compensation
473
62
386
85
472
66
394
91
Short-Term Incentive(3)
285
38
68
15
246
34
38
9
Virtual Restricted Stock Unit Program 2021
285
38
68
15
246
34
38
9
Virtual Restricted Stock Unit Program 2023
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Long-Term Incentive
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Virtual Restricted Stock Unit Program 2021
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Virtual Restricted Stock Unit Program 2023
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Sum variable compensation
285
38
68
15
246
34
38
9
Total target compensation
758
100
454
100
718
100
432
100
_________________________
(1)Amounts converted to USD using the average exchange rate of each corresponding period, when applicable.
(2)Fringe benefits primarily include contributions to market-standard insurance, such as health and nursing care insurance for the management board member and his/her family, and accident insurance. We also reimburse each management board member for expenses incurred in the course of the due performance of his duties and grant an education allowance for eligible dependent children.
(3)Short-term incentive that became due in 2024 is comprised of 98,000 VRSUs granted to Mr. Dufay on June 15, 2022 prior to his appointment to the management board and 84,666 VRSUs granted to Mr. Maillet-Mezeray on June 15, 2022 prior to his appointment to the management board and in 2023 is comprised of 25,000 VRSUs granted to Mr. Dufay on June 10, 2021 and 20,000 granted to Mr. Dufay on September 13, 2021, prior to his appointment to the management board, and 25,000 VRSUs granted to Mr. Maillet-Mezeray on June 10, 2021, prior to his appointment to the management board.
We do not separately set aside amounts from pensions, retirement or other benefits for members of our management board, other than pursuant to relevant statutory requirements.
Share-based Compensation to our Management Board
The following table provides a statement of all outstanding virtual restricted stock units held by each member of our management board. The table includes VRSUs granted prior and subsequent to Mr. Dufay and Mr. Maillet-Mezeray’s appointment to the management board. The members of our management board do not hold any stock options.
Name
Number of granted Options/RSUs
Francis Dufay
VRSUP 2021
359,000
VRSUP 2023
630,000
Antoine Maillet-Mezeray
VRSUP 2021
332,334
VRSUP 2023
630,000
Each member of our management board received virtual restricted stock units, or VRSUs, under the Virtual Restricted Unit Plan 2021 for awards made in 2021 and 2022 and under the Virtual Restricted Unit Plan 2023 for awards made in 2023 and 2024. 119,000 VRSUs granted to Mr. Dufay and 92,334 VRSUs granted to Mr. Maillet-Mezeray prior to their management board appointments do not have performance conditions. 240,000, 350,000 and 280,000 VRSUs granted to each Mr. Dufay and Mr. Maillet-Mezeray in 2022, 2023 and 2024, respectively, are subject to performance conditions linked to the growth rate of GMV and profitability of the Group (Adjusted EBITDA). The management board awards vest in part after 2 years and in part after 4 years and have 2- and 4-year performance periods.
The vesting and performance period schedule applicable to the VRSUs granted in 2023 and 2024 to the members of our management board are summarized below:
(1)Average share price at grant means the closing price of our ordinary shares on NYSE on the grant date. Two ordinary shares is the equivalent of one ADS.
The service agreements entered into by the members of our management board contain malus and clawback provisions. Under these, the remuneration from the payout of virtual restricted stock units and/or stock options can be reduced (malus) or reclaimed (clawback). The supervisory board has the right to reduce or reclaim compensation if a member of the management board intentionally breaches our code of conduct, compliance guidelines or a material contractual duty or if a member of the management board commits significant breaches of duties of care under German corporate law.
No malus or clawback provisions were applied in fiscal year 2024.
Share Ownership Guidelines
Each management board member is required to acquire shares of Jumia worth 100% of such member’s annual gross base salary and to hold those shares at least until the end of appointment as a member of the management board. Management board members are obligated to build up the required amount of shares within four years after initial appointment or after the effective date of the share ownership guidelines, respectively.
As of February 1, 2025, the value of shares held by Mr. Maillet-Mezeray exceeded the shareholding requirement in his service agreement. As of February 1, 2025, the value of shares held by Mr. Dufay exceeded the shareholding requirement in his service agreement.
Early Termination
In the event of termination of the membership to the management board, in particular by revocation of the appointment or resignation, the service agreement also ends automatically in accordance with the statutory notice periods.
In the event the management board member’s service agreement with us ends due to voluntary resignation from office prior to the regular end of term of office, or in case of a revocation from office by us in circumstances where there are grounds justifying a termination of the service relationship for good cause, all unvested as well as vested but not yet paid virtual restricted stock units and stock options will forfeit without compensation.
In cases of early termination other than those described above, a management board member shall retain all virtual restricted stock units or stock options already vested and not yet paid out.
Change of Control
In the event of a change of control, vesting of virtual restricted stock units and stock options will be accelerated. For purposes of our share-based compensation programs, a change of control is an event or process, in which a person or entity acquires a majority of our shares or all or substantially all of our assets. Another business combination transaction, such as a merger, having a similar effect will also be considered to be a change of control. Accelerated vesting means that all unvested virtual restricted stock units and stock options shall vest immediately at the date of the change of control. Under our VRSUP 2023, for members of our management board, virtual restricted stock units will accelerate only if he or she resigns for good reason or his or her employment is terminated without cause within one year after a change of control. The change of control does not trigger a termination right. Thus, no severance payment will be due solely due to the change of control.
Severance Payments
In the event of premature termination of the service agreement, any severance payment to be negotiated may not exceed two years' compensation and is also limited to the compensation for the remaining term of the service agreement.
Post-contractual Prohibition on Competition
Each management board member will be prohibited for 24 months after the ending of the service agreement from competing with us or with our direct and indirect subsidiaries. The post contractual prohibition on competition relates
materially to all areas in which we are active at the time the service agreement ends, and geographically to the entire area of activity at the time the service agreement ends.
For the duration of the post-contractual non-competition period, the Company is obligated to pay the management board member compensation equivalent to half of the fixed monthly compensation last received by the management board member. Other income received by the management board member will be offset against the post contractual non-competition compensation.
We may waive the post-contractual non-competition period at any time. In this case, our obligation to pay compensation will end six months after granting of the waiver.
Secondary Activities
If a management board member receives compensation for serving on the supervisory boards of affiliated companies, this compensation will be offset against the regular compensation at Jumia.
Decisions are generally made by our supervisory board as a whole; however, decisions on certain matters may be delegated to committees of our supervisory board to the extent permitted by law. The chairperson, or if he or she is prevented from doing so, the deputy chairperson, chairs the meetings of the supervisory board and determines the order in which the agenda items are discussed, the method and order of voting, as well as any adjournment of the discussion and passing of resolutions on individual agenda items after a due assessment of the circumstances.
In addition, under German law, each member of the supervisory board is obliged to carry out his or her duties and responsibilities personally, and such duties and responsibilities cannot be generally and permanently delegated to third parties. However, the supervisory board and its committees have the right to appoint independent experts for the review and analysis of specific circumstances in accordance with its supervision duties under German law. We would bear the costs for any such independent experts that are retained by the supervisory board or any of its committees.
The supervisory board may form committees from among its members and charge them with the performance of specific tasks. The committees’ tasks, authorizations and processes are determined by the supervisory board. Where permissible by law, important powers of the supervisory board may also be transferred to committees.
Under Section 10 of its rules of procedure, the supervisory board has established an audit committee, a compensation committee, and a corporate governance and nomination committee. Set forth in the table below are the current members of the audit committee, the compensation committee, and the corporate governance and nomination committee:
Name of committee
Current Members
Audit committee
Anne Eriksson (chairperson), Angela Kaya Mwanza and Blaise Judja-Sato
Compensation committee
Blaise Judja-Sato (chairperson), Angela Kaya Mwanza and Pierre-Yves Calloc’h
Corporate governance and nomination committee
Jonathan D. Klein (chairperson), Anne Eriksson and Angela Kaya Mwanza
Audit Committee
Our audit committee assists the supervisory board in overseeing the accuracy and integrity of our financial statements, our accounting and financial reporting processes and audits of our financial statements, the effectiveness of our internal control system, our risk management system, our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, the independent auditors’ qualifications and independence, the performance of the independent auditors and the effectiveness of our internal audit functions. The audit committee’s duties and responsibilities to carry out its purposes include, among others:
•the preparation of the supervisory board recommendation to the shareholders’ meeting on the appointment of the independent auditors to audit our financial statements and the respective proposal to the supervisory board;
•direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, retention and oversight of the work of the independent auditors, who shall report directly to the audit committee, provided that the auditor appointment and termination shall be subject to approval by the shareholders’ meeting;
•the pre-approval, or the adoption of appropriate procedures to pre-approve, all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors;
•the handling of matters and processes related to auditor independence;
•the establishment, maintenance and review of procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters, and for the confidential, anonymous submission by our employees of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters; and
•the review and approval of all our related party transactions in accordance with our policies in effect from time to time.
The audit committee shall have the resources and authority appropriate to discharge its duties and responsibilities, including the authority to select, retain, terminate, and approve the fees and other engagement terms of special or independent counsel, accountants or other experts and advisors, as it deems necessary or appropriate, without seeking approval of the management board or supervisory board. We shall provide for appropriate funding, as determined by the audit committee, in its capacity as a committee of the supervisory board, for payment of compensation to the independent auditors engaged for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or performing other audit, review or attest services for us, compensation of any advisers employed by the audit committee, and ordinary administrative expenses of the committee that are necessary or appropriate in carrying out its duties.
The audit committee consists of at least three members and, subject to certain limited exceptions, each member of the audit committee must be independent according to the following criteria:
•no member of the audit committee may, directly or indirectly, accept any consulting, advisory or other compensatory fees from our company or its subsidiaries other than in such member’s capacity as a member of our supervisory board or any of its committees; and
•no member of the audit committee may be an “affiliated person” of our company or any of its subsidiaries except for such member’s capacity as a member of our supervisory board or any of its committees; for this purpose, the term “affiliated person” means a person that directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by, or is under common control of our company or any of its subsidiaries.
At least one member of the audit committee shall qualify as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined under the Exchange Act. Our audit committee financial expert is Anne Eriksson.
In accordance with the recommendations of the German Corporate Governance Code, the audit committee shall have at least one member who has special knowledge and experience in the application of accounting principles and internal control and risk management systems (“accounting expertise”) and at least one other member who has special knowledge and experience in the auditing of financial statements (“auditing expertise”). Each of accounting expertise and auditing expertise shall include sustainability reporting and its audit and assurance. The chairperson, who shall have accounting expertise or auditing expertise, and the audit committee financial expert may be considered to comply with this recommendation. Anne Eriksson has accounting expertise and auditing expertise. The details of her expertise are set forth in “—A. Directors and Management—Supervisory Board.”
Compensation Committee
Our compensation committee consists of at least three members and is responsible for:
•considering all aspects of compensation and employment terms for the management board, and in this regard (i) making recommendations to and preparing decisions for the supervisory board, (ii) preparing presentations to the shareholders’ meeting (as applicable), to discuss amendments to existing, or the establishment of new, employment agreements for the members of the management board, including issues of compensation guidelines, incentive programs, strategy and framework;
•considering the compensation and general employment terms for second level executives, and in this regard, it is authorized to make recommendations to the management board;
•commissioning, when appropriate, its own independent review of the compensation guidelines and the compensation packages paid to the members of the management board, to ensure that the guidelines reflect the best practices and that the packages remain competitive and in line with market practice;
•presenting an evaluation of the management board’s performance and making a recommendation to the supervisory board regarding the employment terms and compensation of the management board;
•assisting the supervisory board in the oversight of regulatory compliance with respect to compensation matters, including monitoring our system for compliance with the relevant provisions of the German Corporate
Governance Code concerning the disclosure of information about compensation for the management board and other senior executives;
•assisting the Supervisory Board in the preparation and review of the annual compensation report to be submitted to the Annual General Meeting; and
•examining compensation guidelines that serve as a framework for all compensation matters to be submitted to and determined by the supervisory board.
Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee
Our corporate governance and nomination committee consists of at least three members. The committee is responsible for, among other things, preparing all recommendations to the supervisory board with regard to the following items:
•the appointment and dismissal of management board members, as well as the nomination of the management board chairperson;
•completion of, amendments to and termination of employment contracts with management board members;
•updates to the objectives of the composition of the Supervisory Board and the related profile of skills and expertise; and
•election proposals for suitable supervisory board candidates to be presented to the shareholders’ meeting.
The German Corporate Governance Code, or Corporate Governance Code, was originally published by the German Ministry of Justice (Bundesministerium der Justiz) in 2002 and was most recently amended on April 28, 2022 and published in its revised version in the German Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger) on June 27, 2022. The Corporate Governance Code contains general principles (Grundsätze) of corporate law – for informational purposes only – as well as recommendations (Empfehlungen) and suggestions (Anregungen) relating to the management and supervision of German companies that are listed on a stock exchange. It follows internationally and nationally recognized standards for good and responsible corporate governance. The purpose of the Corporate Governance Code is to make the German system of corporate governance transparent for investors. The Corporate Governance Code includes corporate governance principles and makes recommendations and suggestions with respect to shareholders and general shareholders’ meetings, the management and supervisory boards, transparency, accounting policies, and auditing.
There is no obligation to comply with the recommendations or suggestions of the Corporate Governance Code. However, the German Stock Corporation Act (Aktiengesetz) does require that the management board and supervisory board of a German listed company issue an annual declaration that either (i) states that the company has complied with the recommendations of the Corporate Governance Code or (ii) lists the recommendations that the company has not complied with and explains its reasons for deviating from the recommendations of the Corporate Governance Code (Entsprechenserklärung). In addition, a listed company is also required to state in this annual declaration whether it intends to comply with the recommendations or list the recommendations it does not plan to comply with in the future. The current declaration needs to be published on the company’s website. In addition, the Corporate Governance Code recommends that previous compliance declarations remain on the website for five years. If the company changes its policy on certain recommendations between such annual declarations, it must disclose this fact and explain its reasons for deviating from the recommendations. Noncompliance with suggestions contained in the Corporate Governance Code need not be disclosed.
Following our listing on the New York Stock Exchange in April 2019, the Corporate Governance Code applies to us, and we are required to issue the annual declarations described above. We issued and published our most recent annual compliance declaration on December 18, 2024. You can find our annual compliance declarations on our website at investor.jumia.com under Corporate Governance. This website address is included in this annual report as an inactive textual reference only.
As of December 31, 2024, we employed a total of 2,163 employees. Our employees were based in sixteen countries, and 36.8% of our employees were female and 63.2% were male as of December 31, 2024.
The following table provides a breakdown of our employees by geography:
As of December 31,
2022
2023
2024
West Africa
1,686
1,132
892
North Africa
1,498
941
645
East and South Africa
622
473
320
Others
512
369
306
Total
4,318
2,915
2,163
As of December 31, 2024, 52.9% of our workforce consisted of marketplace operations and management employees followed by logistics employees at 40.4%.
The following table provides a breakdown of our employees by category:
As of December 31,
2022
2023
2024
Marketplace operations and management
1,726
1,633
1,145
Fulfillment
2,294
1,043
874
Other
298
239
144
Total
4,318
2,915
2,163
The average remuneration per employee in 2024 increased to €19.7 thousand ($21.3 thousand) from €15.0 thousand ($16.2 thousand) in 2023, mainly due to the increased price of our ADS and the related higher value of share-based compensation to employees.
For information regarding the share ownership of directors and officers, see Item 7. “Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—A. Major Shareholders.” For information as to our equity incentive plans, see Item 6. “Director, Senior Management and Employees—B. Compensation—Compensation of the Members of our Management Board and Senior Management—Share-based Compensation to our Management Board.”
Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions
A. Major Shareholders
The following table sets forth information, as of February 1, 2025 regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares for:
•Members of our supervisory board;
•Members of our management board;
•Members of our senior management;
•Members of our supervisory board, management board and senior management as a group; and
•Each person, or group of affiliated persons, who has reported to us that such person beneficially owns 5% or more of our outstanding ordinary shares pursuant to the Exchange Act.
For further information regarding material transactions between us and principal shareholders, see “—B. Related Party Transactions” below.
Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC, and the information is not necessarily indicative of beneficial ownership for any other purpose. Under such rules, beneficial ownership includes any shares over which the individual has sole or shared voting power or investment power as well as any shares that the individual has the right to acquire within 60 days of February 1, 2025, through the exercise of any option, warrant or other right. Except as otherwise indicated, and subject to applicable community property laws, the persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares held by that person.
Unless otherwise indicated below, the address for each beneficial owner listed is c/o Jumia Technologies AG, Skalitzer Strasse 104, 10997 Berlin, Germany.
Shareholder
Shares beneficially owned as of February 1, 2025
5% Shareholders
Number
Percent
Baillie Gifford & Co.(1)
18,131,782
7.4
%
Pernod Ricard Deutschland GmbH(2)
15,393,840
6.3
%
Members of our supervisory board
Anne Eriksson
—
—
Blaise Judja-Sato
*
*
Jonathan D. Klein
*
*
Angela Kaya Mwanza
—
—
Pierre-Yves Calloc'h
*
—
Members of our management board
Antoine Maillet-Mezeray
*
*
Francis Dufay
*
*
All members of our supervisory board, management board and senior management, as a group(3)
1,079,532
0.4
%
_________________________
*Indicates beneficial ownership of less than 1% of the total outstanding ordinary shares.
(1)Consists of 9,065,891 ADS with two ordinary shares representing one ADS held by Baillie Gifford & Co. and/or one or more of its investment adviser subsidiaries, which may include Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited, on behalf of investment advisory clients, which may include investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act, employee benefit plans, pension funds or other institutional clients. Securities representing more than 5% of the class are held on behalf of Vanguard International Growth Fund, a US registered investment company sub-advised by Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited.
(2)Consists of ordinary shares held by Pernod Ricard Deutschland GmbH, a company organized under the laws of Germany with company number HRB 38302. The business address of Pernod Ricard Deutschland GmbH is Habsburgerring 2, 50674 Cologne, Germany. Pernod Ricard Deutschland GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pernod Ricard SA, which may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of all of these ordinary shares.
(3)Includes ADS purchased by Messrs. Klein, Judja-Sato, Calloc'h, Dufay and Maillet-Mezeray.
The share capital of the Company consists of ordinary shares, which are issued only in bearer form. Accordingly, the Company generally cannot determine the identity of its shareholders or how many shares a particular shareholder owns. The Company’s ordinary shares are traded in the United States by means of ADRs. Each ADR currently represents two ordinary shares of the Company. On February 1, 2025, based on information provided by The Bank of New York Mellon, as depositary, there were 116,037,240 ADRs outstanding. The ordinary shares underlying such ADRs represented 94.8% of the then-outstanding ordinary shares. Subject to the provisions of the deposit agreement, none of our shareholders have different voting rights from other shareholders. We are not aware of any arrangement that may at a subsequent date, result in a change of control of Jumia.
B. Related Party Transactions
The following is a description of related party transactions the Group has entered into since January 1, 2019, with members of our supervisory or management board, executive officers or holders of more than 10% of any class of our voting securities.
Key management includes the senior executives. The compensation paid or payable to key management for employee services is shown below:
For the year ended December 31,
2023
2024
(in USD million)
Short-term employee benefits
3.3
3.5
Other benefits
0.1
—
Share-based compensation
1.9
2.1
Total
5.3
5.6
See Note 18 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for additional information regarding the share-based compensation plans.
C. Interest of Experts and Counsel
Not applicable.
Item 8. Financial Information
A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information
See Item 18. “Financial Statements” and our audited consolidated financial statement beginning on page F-1.
Dividend Policy
We have not paid any dividends on our ordinary shares since our inception, and we currently intend to retain any future earnings to finance the growth and development of our business. Therefore, we do not anticipate that we will declare or pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Except as required by law, any future determination to pay cash dividends will be at the discretion of our management board and supervisory board and will be dependent upon our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, and other factors our management board and supervisory board deem relevant.
All of the shares represented by our ADSs will generally have the same dividend rights as all of our other outstanding shares. However, the depositary may limit distributions based on practical considerations and legal limitations. Any distribution of dividends proposed by our management and supervisory boards requires the approval of our shareholders in a shareholders’ meeting.
We have not paid dividends in the years ended December 31, 2022, December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024.
B. Significant Changes
Except as otherwise disclosed in this Annual Report, there has been no undisclosed significant change since the date of the annual financial statements.
Item 9. The Offer and Listing
A. Offer and Listing Details
Our ADSs, each representing two of our ordinary shares, have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since April 12, 2019. Our ADSs trade under the symbol “JMIA.”
A copy of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association is attached as Exhibit 1.1 to this Annual Report. The information called for by this Item is set forth in Exhibit 2.3 to this Annual Report and is incorporated by reference into this Annual Report.
C. Material Contracts
Except as otherwise disclosed in this Annual Report (including the Exhibits), we are not currently, nor have we been for the past two years, party to any material contract, other than contracts entered into in the ordinary course of business.
Mastercard Agreements
In connection with our initial public offering, we entered into a private placement agreement with Mastercard whereby Mastercard agreed to purchase from us €50.0 million of our ordinary shares at a price per share equal to the euro equivalent of the initial public offering price per ordinary share. Based on the initial public offering price of $14.50 per ADS and an exchange rate of $1.1264 per €1.00, Mastercard purchased 7,763,976 ordinary shares (corresponding to 3,881,988 ADSs).
In connection with the private placement, we entered into a commercial agreement with Mastercard Asia/Pacific, an affiliate of Mastercard. This commercial agreement had a term of ten years and provided Mastercard Asia/Pacific with priority in delivering, and a right to partner with us on initiatives aimed at promoting, facilitating and driving, payment network based solutions, technologies and services related to our business.
Under the agreement, we used the Mastercard Payment Services Gateway (“MPGS”) to process card payments in all countries where this gateway is available and permitted under local law.
In June 2024, Jumia terminated its agreement with Mastercard Asia/Pacific. While JumiaPay will continue to accept Mastercard as a method of payment, the termination will allow Jumia to broaden and deepen its relationship with other payment services providers.
There are currently no legal restrictions in Germany on international capital movements and foreign exchange transactions, except in limited embargo circumstances (Teilembargo) relating to certain areas, entities or persons as a result of applicable resolutions adopted by the United Nations and the EU. Restrictions currently exist with respect to, among others, Belarus, Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Zimbabwe. In response to Russia’s large-scale military action against Ukraine, a number of states and other organizations, including the EU, have imposed broad-based measures against Russian persons and transactions.
For statistical purposes, there are, however, limited notification requirements regarding transactions involving cross-border monetary transfers. With some exceptions, every corporation or individual residing in Germany must report to the German Central Bank (Deutsche Bundesbank) (i) any payment received from, or made to, a non-resident corporation or individual that exceeds €12,500 (or the equivalent in a foreign currency) and (ii) in case the sum of claims against, or liabilities payable to, non-residents or corporations exceeds €5,000,000 (or the equivalent in a foreign currency) at the end of any calendar month. Payments include cash payments made by means of direct debit, checks and bills, remittances denominated in euros and other currencies made through financial institutions, as well as netting and clearing arrangements.
E. Taxation
German Taxation
The following discussion addresses certain German tax consequences of acquiring, owning or disposing of the ADSs. With the exception of the subsection “German Taxation of Holders of ADSs—Taxation of Holders Tax Resident in Germany” below, which provides an overview of dividend and capital gain taxation of holders that are tax residents in Germany, this discussion applies only to U.S. treaty beneficiaries (defined below) that acquire our ADSs.
This discussion is based on domestic German tax laws, including, but not limited to, circulars issued by German tax authorities, which are not binding for German courts, and the Treaty (defined below). It is based upon tax laws in effect at the time of filing of this Annual Report. These laws are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect. In addition, this discussion is based upon the assumption that each obligation in the deposit agreement and any related agreement will be performed in accordance with its terms. It does not purport to be a comprehensive or exhaustive description of all German tax considerations that may be of relevance in the context of acquiring, owning and disposing of ADSs. There is no assurance that German tax authorities will not challenge one or more of the tax consequences described in this section.
The tax information presented in this section is not a substitute for tax advice. Prospective holders of ADSs should consult their own tax advisors regarding the German tax consequences of the purchase, ownership, disposition, donation or inheritance of ADSs in the light of their particular circumstances, including the effect of any state, local, or other foreign or domestic laws or changes in tax law or interpretation. The same applies with respect to the rules governing the refund of any German dividend withholding tax (Kapitalertragsteuer) withheld. Only an individual tax consultation can appropriately account for the particular tax situation of each investor.
The Company does not assume any responsibility for withholding tax at source.
German Taxation of Holders of ADSs
General
Based on the Circular issued by the German Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF-Schreiben), dated May 24, 2013, reference number IV C 1-S2204/12/10003, as amended by the Circular dated December 18, 2018, reference number IV C 1-S2204/12/10003, in respect of the taxation of American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) on domestic shares (jointly the “ADR Tax Circular”), for German tax purposes, the ADSs should represent a beneficial ownership interest in the underlying shares of the Company and should qualify as the ADRs for the purpose of the ADR Tax Circular even though it has to be noted that the ADR Tax Circular does not explicitly address ADSs. If the ADSs qualify as the ADRs under the ADR Tax Circular, dividends would accordingly be attributable to holders of the ADSs for German tax purposes, and not to the legal owner of the ordinary shares (i.e., the financial institution on behalf of which the ordinary shares are stored at a domestic depository for the ADS holders). Furthermore, holders of the ADSs should be treated as beneficial owners of the
capital of the Company with respect to capital gains (see below in section “German Taxation of Capital Gains of the U.S. Treaty Beneficiaries of the ADSs”). However, investors should note that Circulars published by the German tax authorities (including the ADR Tax Circular) are not binding for German courts, including German tax courts, and it is unclear whether a German court would follow the ADR Tax Circular in determining the German tax treatment of the ADSs. For the purpose of this German tax section, it is assumed that the ADSs qualify as the ADRs within the meaning of the ADR Tax Circular.
Taxation of Holders Not Tax Resident in Germany
The following discussion describes material German tax consequences for a holder that is a U.S. treaty beneficiary of acquiring, owning and disposing of the ADSs. For purposes of this discussion, a “U.S. treaty beneficiary” is a resident of the United States for purposes of the Convention between the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income and Capital and to Certain Other Taxes as of June 4, 2008 (Abkommen zwischen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika zur Vermeidung der Doppelbesteuerung und zur Verhinderung der Steuerverkürzung auf dem Gebiet der Steuern vom Einkommen und vom Vermögen und einiger anderer Steuern in der Fassung vom 4. Juni 2008) (the “Treaty”), who is eligible for the relevant benefits under the Treaty.
A holder will be a U.S. treaty beneficiary entitled to full Treaty benefits in respect of the ADSs if it is, inter alia:
•the beneficial owner of the ADSs (and the dividends paid with respect thereto);
•a U.S. holder (as defined below in U.S. Taxation);
•not also a resident of Germany for German tax purposes; and
•not subject to the limitation on benefits restrictions (i.e., anti-avoidance treaty shopping article 28 of the Treaty or German domestic rules) that applies in limited circumstances.
Special rules apply to pension funds and certain other tax-exempt investors.
This discussion does not address the treatment of ADSs (i) held in connection with a permanent establishment or fixed base through which a U.S. treaty beneficiary carries on business or performs personal services in Germany or (ii) which are part of business assets for which a permanent representative in Germany has been appointed.
General Rules for the Taxation of Holders Not Tax Resident in Germany
Non-German resident holders of ADSs are subject to German taxation with respect to certain German source income (beschränkte Steuerpflicht). Income from the shares should be attributed to the holder of the ADSs for German tax purposes in line with the principles of the ADR Tax Circular. Consequently, income from the ADSs should be treated as German source income, as income of a corporation with a statutory seat and/or its place of central management in Germany. However, the repayment of capital contributions (Einlagenrückgewähr) for tax purposes is considered as reduction of the acquisition costs of the respective shares rather than as dividend payment (subject to proper tax declaration by the company in accordance with German tax law).
German Taxation of Dividends of the U.S. Treaty Beneficiaries of the ADSs
The full amount of a dividend distributed by the Company to a non-German resident holder which does neither maintain a permanent establishment or fixed place of business or other taxable presence in Germany, nor the ADSs form part of business assets for which a permanent representative in Germany has been appointed, is subject to (final) German withholding tax at a 25% rate plus a solidarity surcharge (Solidaritätszuschlag) of 5.5% on the amount of withholding tax (amounting in total to a rate of 26.375%) and church tax (Kirchensteuer), if applicable. The relevant dividend is deemed to be received for German tax purposes at the payout date as determined by the company’s general shareholders’ meeting, or if such date is not specified, the day after such general shareholders’ meeting. The amount of the relevant taxable income is based on the gross amount in Euro. The assessment basis for the withholding tax is the dividend approved by the shareholders' meeting; any expenses and costs related to such taxable income in principle should not reduce the taxable income.
German withholding tax on capital investment income (Kapitalertragsteuer) is withheld and remitted to the competent German tax authorities by (i) the German disbursing agent (in particular, the German domestic credit or financial services institution (inländisches Kredit- or Finanzdienstleistungsinstitut), including domestic branches of such foreign enterprises), by the domestic securities trading company (inländisches Wertpapierhandelsunternehmen), or the German domestic securities trading bank (inländische Wertpapierhandelsbank) which keeps or administers the shares and disburses or credits the dividends to the holder or disburses the dividends to a foreign agent, (ii) the central securities depository (Wertpapiersammelbank) to which the shares were entrusted for collective custody if the dividends are disbursed to a foreign agent by such central securities depository (Wertpapiersammelbank), or (iii) by the company itself if and to the extent (a) shares held in collective custody (Sammelverwahrung) by the central securities depository (Wertpapiersammelbank), so-called "abgesetzte Bestände" (stock being held separately), or (b) under certain circumstances, in the event that electronic shares (elektronische Aktien) in the relevant company have been issued ("Dividend Paying agent").
This, however, will not apply if and to the extent that dividend payments are funded from the Company's contribution account for tax purposes (steuerliches Einlagekonto) pursuant to Section 27 of the German Corporation Tax Act (Körperschaftsteuergesetz); in this case no withholding tax will be withheld. However, these payments will reduce the acquisition costs of the shares and may, consequently, result in or increase a taxable gain upon the disposal of the ADSs (see below "German Taxation of Capital Gains").
With respect to distributions made to a U.S. treaty beneficiary or any holder not tax resident in Germany, the withholding tax may be at least partially refunded in accordance with an applicable double taxation treaty Germany has entered into with the respective holder's country of tax domicile if the ADRs neither form part of the assets of a permanent establishment or a fixed place of business in Germany, nor form part of business assets for which a permanent representative in Germany has been appointed. The withholding tax refund is generally granted by the German Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern) upon application in such a manner that the difference between the total amount withheld, including the solidarity surcharge, and the reduced withholding tax owed under the relevant double taxation treaty (15.0% for U.S. treaty beneficiary) is refunded by the German Federal Central Tax Office.
A refund is not required if the Federal Central Tax Office has, upon application on the officially prescribed form, issued an exemption certificate (Freistellungsbescheinigung) which documents that the prerequisites for the application of the reduced withholding tax rates have been met. Dividends covered by the exemption certificate of the ADR holder are then only subject to the reduced withholding tax rates stipulated in the exemption certificate. An exemption certificate is only available for corporate ADR holders.
For example, for a declared dividend in the amount of €100, a U.S. treaty beneficiary initially receives €73.625 (€100 minus the 26.375% withholding tax including solidarity surcharge). The U.S. treaty beneficiary is entitled to a partial withholding tax refund from the German tax authorities in the amount of €11.375 of the gross dividend (of €100). As a result, the U.S. treaty beneficiary ultimately receives a total of €85 (85% of the declared dividend) following the refund of the excess withholding tax. However, investors should note that it is unclear how the German tax authorities will apply the refund process to dividends on the ADSs with respect to non-German resident holders of the ADSs. Further, such refund is subject to the German anti-avoidance treaty shopping rules (as described below in section “—Withholding Tax Refund for U.S. Treaty Beneficiaries”).
A reduced permitted German withholding tax rate of 5% would apply according to the Treaty provisions, if the U.S. treaty beneficiary is a corporation and holds directly at least 10% of the voting shares of the dividend paying company.
Withholding Tax Refund for U.S. Treaty Beneficiaries
U.S. treaty beneficiaries are generally eligible for treaty benefits under the Treaty, as described above in Section “—Taxation of Holders Not Tax Resident in Germany.” Accordingly, U.S. treaty beneficiaries are in general entitled to claim a refund of (i) the portion of the otherwise applicable 26.375% German withholding tax (corporate income tax including solidarity surcharge) (Kapitalertragsteuer) on dividends that exceed the applicable Treaty rate of 15% and (ii) the full amount of German withholding tax (Kapitalertragsteuer) on gains from the disposition of ADSs (in either case, subject to presenting a German withholding tax certificate). The application for such claim is generally to be filed with the Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern) within four years after the end of the calendar year in which the dividends or capital gains have been received (bezogen).
However, in respect of dividends, refund described in the preceding paragraph is only possible if, due to special rules on the restriction of withholding tax credit, the following three cumulative requirements are met (the tests under (a) to (c) below are together described as the “minimum risk test”):
a.the holder must qualify as beneficial owner of the ADSs for an uninterrupted minimum holding period of 45 days within a period starting 45 days prior to and ending 45 days after the due date of the dividends, (ii)
b.the holder has been exposed (if taking into account claims of the holder from transactions reducing the risk of changes of the market value of the ADRs and corresponding claims of related parties of the holder) to at least 70.0% of the risk resulting from a decrease-in-value of the ADRs continuously during the Minimum Holding Period (the minimum change-in-value risk (Mindestwertänderungsrisiko))
c.the holder must not be obliged to fully or largely compensate directly or indirectly the dividends to third parties.
If these requirements are not met, then for a holder not being tax-resident in Germany who applied for a full or partial refund of the withholding tax pursuant to a double taxation treaty, no refund is available.
This restriction generally does only apply, if (i) the tax on the dividends underlying the refund application is below a tax rate of 15% based on the gross amount of the dividends pursuant to a double taxation treaty and (ii) the holder is not a corporate entity which directly owns 10% or more of the shares in the company and is subject to income taxes in his state of residence, without being tax-exempt.
In addition to the aforementioned restrictions, in particular, pursuant to a Circular published by the German Federal Ministry of Finance dated July 9, 2021 IV C 1 — S 2252/19/10035 :014, the withholding tax credit may also be denied under the general German anti-abuse rule.
The special rule on the restriction of withholding tax credit does not apply to a holder if he has been, upon actual receipt of the dividend, the beneficial owner of the ADRs for a continuous period of at least one year, whereby ADRs of the holder acquired first are deemed to be sold first (first in – first out).
Further, such refund is subject to the German anti-avoidance treaty shopping rule according to Section 50d para 3 of the German Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz). With the Withholding Tax Relief Modernization Act (Abzugsteuerentlastungsmodernisierungsgesetz) as of 2 June 2021, Section 50d para 3 of the German Income Tax Act has been modified.
The holder i.e. recipient of dividends is only entitled to any relief from German withholding taxes if:
a.he has shareholders who would also be entitled to the same treaty or directive relief if they directly received the dividends; or
b.the source of income has a significant connection with a genuine economic activity of the holder; or
c.he provides proof that there are no main purposes for the interposition of the foreign holder to obtain a tax advantage; or
d.the main class of shares in the holder is traded substantially and regularly on a recognized stock exchange.
Under the Withholding Tax Relief Modernization Act (Abzugsteuerentlastungsmodernisierungsgesetz), the withholding tax certificate will be replaced for dividend income (including under ADRs) accruing after December 31, 2024 by a notification to be submitted by the disbursing agent directly to the Federal Central Tax Office upon request of the holder. In particular with regard to ADRs, the disbursing agent will be required to include substantial additional information in the notification and will have to obtain certain confirmations from the issuer of the ADRs and will only be allowed to submit the notification (which will be a pre-requisite for any refund) to the Federal Central Tax Office once it has collected all information and confirmations.
Further requirements to the entitlement to claim withholding tax exemption or refund could arise from the European Commission’s proposal for a Council Directive on the misuse of shell entities for improper tax purposes dated December 22, 2021, amended January 17, 2023 referred to as Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive 3. This draft Council Directive is however still subject to discussion and the legislative process has not yet been completed at both European and national level.
Forms for the reimbursement and the exemption from the withholding at source procedure are available at the German Federal Central Tax Office (online at http://www.bzst.bund.de), as well as at German embassies and consulates. Among others a German withholding tax certificate must be attached.
German Taxation of Capital Gains of the U.S. Treaty Beneficiaries of the ADSs
Capital gains from the disposition of the ADSs realized by a non-German tax resident holder in case the ADSs neither form part of the assets of a permanent establishment or a fixed place of business or other taxable presence in Germany, nor form part of business assets for which a permanent representative in Germany will be treated as German source income and be subject to German (corporate) income tax if such holder at any time during the five years preceding the disposition, directly or indirectly, owned 1% or more of the Company’s share capital (or other equity related instruments, as specified by law), irrespective of whether through the ADSs or shares of the Company ("qualified holding"). If such holder had acquired the ADSs without consideration, the previous owner’s holding period and quota would be considered when calculating the above holding period and the participation threshold.
However, U.S. treaty beneficiaries are eligible for treaty benefits under the Treaty (as described above in the section “—General Rules for the Taxation of Holders Not Tax Resident in Germany “). Pursuant to the Treaty, U.S. treaty beneficiaries are not subject to German tax with any capital gain derived from the disposal of the ADSs, even in case of qualified holding and therefore should not be subject to German taxation on capital gains from the disposition of the ADSs.
If the shares are held in custody or administered by a credit institution, financial services institution, securities trading company or securities trading bank in Germany, including German branches of foreign credit institutions or financial service institutions, or if such an office executes the disposal of the shares and pays out or credits the capital gains (a “Domestic Paying Agent”), the tax on the capital gains will in general be satisfied by the Domestic Paying Agent withholding the withholding tax on investment income at an aggregate withholding tax rate of 26.375% (including solidarity surcharge (Solidaritätszuschlag)) plus church tax, if any, on the capital gain and transferring it to the tax authority for the account of the seller.
應當指出的是，德國成文法並未明確規定，根據德國成文法或允許德國對此類資本利得稅徵稅的適用所得稅條約，資本利得稅有預扣稅的義務。然而，德國聯邦財政部於2022年5月19日發出的通知(編號IV C 1-S2252/19/10003：009)規定，如果託管賬戶的持有人出於稅務目的不是德國居民，且所得收入不受德國稅收的影響，則無需扣繳德國資本利得稅，該通知最後經2023年7月11日的通知第IV C 1-S 2252/19/10003：013修訂。該通知進一步規定，即使非德國居民持有德國公司1%或更多的股本，也沒有義務預扣此類稅款。儘管德國聯邦財政部發佈的通知原則上只對德國稅務機關具有約束力，但國內支付代理人應不會對美國條約受益人通過處置在德國託管賬戶中持有的ADS而獲得的資本利得預扣稅款，除非ADS的持有人沒有通過外國稅務機關簽發的住所證明提供其作爲非德國稅務居民的稅務身份的證據。在任何其他情況下，美國條約受益人可能有權根據本條約向德國聯邦中央稅務局要求退還預扣稅款，如下文「美國條約受益人預扣退稅」一節所述。
total plus any church tax (Kirchensteuer) if applicable). The taxable capital gain is, in general, computed from the difference between (i) the proceeds of the disposal, and (ii) the acquisition costs of the ADRs and the expenses related directly and materially to the disposal.
Regardless of the holding period and the time of acquisition, gains from the disposal of ADRs are not subject to a uniform withholding tax but to progressive income tax in the case of a Qualified Holding. In this case, the partial income method applies to gains on the disposal of shares, which means that only 60% of the capital gains are subject to German income tax and only 60% of the losses on the disposal and expenses economically related thereto are tax deductible.
Losses resulting from the disposal of ADSs can only be offset with capital gains from the disposition of shares of corporations (Aktien) and other ADSs treated similar to shares. However, the German Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof) recently decided that the limitation on the offset possibilities constitutes a violation of the equal protection clause under the German constitution and submitted the legal question to the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) for decision on its constitutionality; the German Federal Constitutional Court has not yet decided on this question. If, however, a holder directly or indirectly held at least 1% of the share capital of the company at any time during the five years preceding the disposition, the German flat rate income tax on capital income does not apply with regard to such capital gain, but 60% of the capital gain resulting from the disposition are taxable at the holder’s personal progressive income tax rate (plus 5.5% solidarity surcharge and church tax, if applicable, thereon). Correspondingly, only 60% of any capital losses and disposal costs are tax deductible.
If gains are exceeded by losses, such excess losses may be carried forward to subsequent assessment periods. If losses result from the derecognition (Ausbuchung) or transfer to a third party of certain worthless assets or any other total loss of such assets, such losses, together with losses resulting from the full or partial non-recoverability of the repayment claim of capital receivables of the same year, and loss-carry forwards of previous years can only be offset against capital investment income up to an amount of €20,000 (“Limitation on Loss Deduction”) per calendar year. Any exceeding loss amount can be carried forward and offset against future investment income, but again subject to the €20,000 limitation.
If the shares are held in custody or administered by a Domestic Paying Agent, the tax on the capital gains will in general be satisfied by the Domestic Paying Agent withholding the withholding tax on investment income at an aggregate withholding tax rate of 26.375% (including solidarity surcharge (Solidaritätszuschlag)) plus church tax, if any, on the capital gain and transferring it to the tax authority for the account of the seller.
ADSs as Business Assets (Betriebsvermögen)
In case the ADSs are held as business assets, the actual taxation depends on the legal form of the holder (i.e., whether the holder is a corporation, a partnership or an individual).
Taxation of Dividends
As a general rule, dividends distributed to a holder are subject to a withholding tax (Kapitalertragsteuer) of 25% and a solidarity surcharge of 5.5% thereon (i.e., 26.375% in total plus church tax, if applicable). This, however, will not apply if and to the extent that dividend payments are funded from the Company's contribution account for tax purposes (steuerliches Einlagekonto pursuant to Section 27 of the German Corporation Tax Act (Körperschaftsteuergesetz)); in this case no withholding tax will be withheld. However, these payments will reduce the acquisition costs of the shares and may, consequently, result in or increase a taxable gain upon the disposal of the shares (see below "Taxation of Capital Gains").
The tax actually withheld is generally creditable against the respective holder’s (corporate or personal) income tax liability. Due to special rules on the restriction of withholding tax credits in respect of dividends, the holder must fulfill the minimum risk test. If these requirements are not met, three-fifths of the withholding tax imposed on the dividends must not be credited against the holder’s corporate income tax or income tax liability, but may, upon application, be deducted from the holder’s tax base for the relevant tax assessment period.
The special rules on the restriction of withholding tax credit do not apply to a holder whose overall dividend earnings within an assessment period do not exceed €20,000 or who has been the beneficial owner of the ADSs for at least one uninterrupted year until receipt (Zufluss) of the dividends.
A holder who is generally subject to German income tax or corporate income tax and who has received gross dividends without any deduction of withholding tax due to a tax exemption without qualifying for a full tax credit under the
minimum risk test has to notify the competent local tax office accordingly and must make a payment in the amount of the omitted withholding tax deduction.
In addition to the aforementioned restrictions, in particular, pursuant to a Circular published by the German Federal Ministry of Finance dated July 9, 2021 IV C 1 — S2252/19/10035 :014, the withholding tax credit may also be denied based on the general German anti-abuse rules.
To the extent the amount withheld exceeds the (corporate or personal) income tax liability, the withholding tax will be refunded, provided that certain requirements are met.
Dividends from ADSs are only 95% exempt from corporate income tax if the corporation holds at least 10% of the share capital (Grundkapital oder Stammkapital) in the Company at the beginning of the respective calendar year. To the extent ADSs and/or shares of 10% or more of the Company have been acquired during a calendar year, the acquisition will be deemed to be made at the beginning of the calendar year. Business expenses actually incurred in direct relation to the dividends may be deducted. Participations of at least 10% acquired in accordance with the view of the German tax authorities in a single transaction during a calendar year are deemed to have been acquired at the beginning of the calendar year. Participations which a holder holds through a partnership (including those that are co-entrepreneurships (Mitunternehmerschaften)) are attributable to the holder only on a pro rata basis at the ratio of the interest share of the holder in the equity of the relevant partnership.
Furthermore, dividends (after deducting business expenses economically related to the dividends) are subject to trade tax in the full amount, unless the holder held an interest of at least 15% in the share capital of the Company at the beginning of the relevant assessment period. In this latter case, the dividends are not subject to trade tax; however, trade tax is levied on the amount considered to be non-deductible business expenses (amounting to 5% of the dividend). The average trade tax rate in Germany amounts to approximately 15% (with a statutory minimum rate of 7%).
Taxation of Capital Gains
Regarding holders in the legal form of a corporation, capital gains from ADSs are in general effectively 95% tax exempt from corporate income tax (including solidarity surcharge) and trade tax.
With regard to individuals holding ADSs as business assets, 60% of capital gains are taxed at the personal progressive income tax rate of the holder of the ADSs (plus 5.5% solidarity surcharge and church tax, if applicable, thereon). Correspondingly, only 60% of business expenses related to the respective income are principally deductible for income tax purposes. Furthermore, trade tax may apply, provided the ADSs are held as assets of a German trade or business (Gewerbebetrieb) of the holder, but the resulting trade tax might be (partly) credited against the income tax liability of the holder pursuant to a lump sum procedure.
Irrespective of the legal form of the holder, capital gains are generally subject to the aggregate withholding tax rate of 26.375%.
However, the Domestic Paying Agent will not withhold the withholding tax in accordance with Section 43 para. 2 sent. 3 of the German Income Tax Act, if (i) the holder is a corporation, association of persons or estate with a tax domicile in Germany, or (ii) the ADRs belong to the domestic business assets of a holder, and the holder declares so to the Domestic Paying Agent using the designated official form and certain other requirements are met.
Special taxation rules apply to German tax resident credit institutions (Kreditinstitute), financial services institutions (Finanzdienstleistungsinstitute), financial enterprises (Finanzunternehmen), life insurance and health insurance companies (Lebens- und Krankenversicherungsunternehmen), pension funds (Pensionsfonds) and investment funds (Investmentfonds).
German Inheritance and Gift Tax (Erbschafts- und Schenkungssteuer)
Generally, a transfer of ADSs by inheritance or by way of gift will be subject to German inheritance or gift tax, respectively, if:
•(i) the place of residence, habitual abode, place of management or registered office of the decedent, the donor, the heir, the donee or another acquirer is at the time of the asset transfer in Germany or such person, as a German
national, has prior to the transfer not spent more than generally five consecutive years outside of Germany without maintaining a place of residence in Germany; or,
•(ii) the ADSs or ordinary shares are part of the business property of a permanent establishment in Germany or a fixed base for which a permanent representative in Germany has been appointed; or
•(iii) the ADSs or ordinary shares subject to such transfer form part of a portfolio that represents at the time of the transfer 10% or more of the registered share capital of the Company and has been held, directly or indirectly, by the decedent or donor alone or jointly with related persons.
However, the right of Germany to impose gift or inheritance tax on a non-resident holder may be limited by an applicable estate tax treaty. In the case of a U.S. resident holder, a transfer of ADSs by a U.S. resident holder at death or by way of gift generally will not be subject to German gift or inheritance tax pursuant to the estate tax treaty between the U.S. and Germany (Convention between the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States of America for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to Estate, Gift and Inheritance Taxes, (Abkommen zwischen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika zur Vermeidung der Doppelbesteuerung auf dem Gebiet der Nachlass-, Erbschafts- und Schenkungssteuern) as published on December 21, 2000 (the “Estate Tax Treaty”), provided the decedent or donor, or the heir, donee or other transferee was not domiciled in Germany for purposes of the Estate Tax Treaty at the time the gift was made, or at the time of the decedent’s death, and the ADSs were not held in connection with a permanent establishment or a fixed base in Germany. In general, the Estate Tax Treaty provides a credit against the U.S. federal gift or estate tax liability for the amount of gift or inheritance tax.
Other German Taxes
There are currently no German net worth, transfer, stamp or other similar taxes that would apply to a U.S. holder on the acquisition, ownership, sale or other disposition of the ADSs. Certain member states of the European Union are considering introducing a financial transaction tax (Finanztransaktionssteuer) which, if and when introduced, may also be applicable on sales and/or transfer of ADSs.
U.S. Taxation
Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations
This section describes the material United States federal income tax consequences of owning and disposing of ADSs. It applies to you only if you are a U.S. holder (as defined below) and you hold your ADSs as capital assets for United States federal income tax purposes. This discussion addresses only United States federal income taxation and does not discuss all of the tax consequences that may be relevant to you in light of your individual circumstances, including foreign, state or local tax consequences, estate and gift tax consequences, and tax consequences arising under the Medicare contribution tax on net investment income or the alternative minimum tax. This section does not apply to you if you are a member of a special class of holders subject to special rules, including:
•a broker or dealer in securities,
•a trader in securities that elects to use a mark-to-market method of accounting for securities holdings,
•a tax-exempt organization or governmental organization,
•a tax-qualified retirement plan,
•a bank, insurance company or other financial institution,
•a real estate investment trust or regulated investment company,
•a person that actually or constructively owns 10% or more of the combined voting power of our voting stock or of the total value of our stock,
•a person that holds ADSs as part of a straddle or a hedging or conversion transaction,
•a person that purchases or sells ADSs as part of a wash sale for tax purposes,
•a person whose functional currency is not the US dollar,
•a corporation that accumulates earnings to avoid U.S. federal income tax,
•an S corporation, partnership or other entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes (and investors therein), and
•a person deemed to sell ADSs under the constructive sale provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
This section is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, its legislative history, existing and proposed regulations, published rulings and court decisions, all as currently in effect, as well as on the Treaty. These laws are subject to change, possibly on a retroactive basis. In addition, this section is based in part upon the representations of the depositary and the assumption that each obligation in the Deposit Agreement and any related agreement will be performed in accordance with its terms.
If an entity or arrangement that is treated as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes holds the ADSs, the United States federal income tax treatment of a partner will generally depend on the status of the partner and the tax treatment of the partnership. A partner in a partnership holding the ADSs should consult its tax advisor with regard to the United States federal income tax treatment of an investment in the ADSs.
You are a U.S. holder if you are a beneficial owner of ADSs and you are, for United States federal income tax purposes:
•a citizen or resident of the United States,
•a domestic corporation,
•an estate whose income is subject to United States federal income tax regardless of its source, or
•a trust if a United States court can exercise primary supervision over the trust’s administration and one or more United States persons are authorized to control all substantial decisions of the trust.
You should consult your own tax advisor regarding the United States federal, state and local tax consequences of owning and disposing of ADSs in your particular circumstances.
In general, and taking into account the earlier assumptions, for United States federal income tax purposes, if you hold ADRs evidencing ADSs, you will be treated as the owner of the shares represented by those ADRs. Exchanges of shares for ADRs, and ADRs for shares, generally will not be subject to United States federal income tax.
Except as described below under “PFIC Rules,” this discussion assumes that we are not, and will not become, a PFIC for United States federal income tax purposes.
Dividends
Under the United States federal income tax laws, if you are a U.S. holder, the gross amount of any distribution we pay out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined for United States federal income tax purposes), other than certain pro-rata distributions of our shares, will be treated as a dividend that is subject to United States federal income taxation. If you are a noncorporate U.S. holder, dividends that constitute qualified dividend income will be taxable to you at the preferential rates applicable to long-term capital gains provided that you hold the ADSs for more than 60 days during the 121-day period beginning 60 days before the ex-dividend date and meet other holding period requirements. Dividends we pay with respect to the ADSs generally will be qualified dividend income provided that, in the year that you receive the dividend, the ADSs are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States. Our ADSs are listed on the NYSE and we therefore expect that dividends will be qualified dividend income.
You must include any German tax withheld from the dividend payment in this gross amount even though you do not in fact receive it. The dividend is taxable to you when the depositary receives the dividend, actually or constructively. The dividend will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to United States corporations in respect of dividends received from other United States corporations. If dividends are paid in a currency other than the US dollar, the amount of the dividend distribution that you must include in your income will be the US dollar value of the payments made, determined at the rate on the date the dividend is distributed, regardless of whether the payment is in fact converted into US dollars. Generally, any gain or loss resulting from currency exchange fluctuations during the period from the date the dividend is distributed to the date you convert the payment into US dollars will be treated as ordinary income or loss and will not be eligible for the special tax rate applicable to qualified dividend income. The gain or loss generally will be income or loss from sources within the United States for foreign tax credit limitation purposes. Distributions in excess of current and accumulated earnings and profits, as determined for United States federal income tax purposes, will be treated as a non-taxable return of capital to the extent of your basis in the ADSs and thereafter as capital gain. However, we do not expect to calculate earnings and profits in accordance with United States federal income tax principles. Accordingly, you should expect to generally treat distributions we make as dividends.
Subject to certain limitations, the German tax withheld in accordance with the Treaty and paid over to Germany will be creditable or deductible against your United States federal income tax liability. Special rules apply in determining the foreign tax credit limitation with respect to dividends that are subject to the preferential tax rates. To the extent a reduction or refund of the tax withheld is available to you under German law or under the Treaty, the amount of tax withheld that could have been reduced or that is refundable will not be eligible for credit against your United States federal income tax liability. See “—German Taxation—German Taxation of Holders of ADSs—Withholding Tax Refund for U.S. Treaty Beneficiaries,” above, for the procedures for obtaining a tax refund.
Dividends will generally be income from sources outside the United States and will generally be “passive” income for purposes of computing the foreign tax credit allowable to you.
Capital Gains
If you are a U.S. holder and you sell or otherwise dispose of your ADSs, you will recognize capital gain or loss for United States federal income tax purposes equal to the difference between the US dollar value of the amount that you realize and your tax basis, determined in US dollars, in your ADSs. Capital gain of a noncorporate U.S. holder is generally taxed at preferential rates where the property is held for more than one year. The gain or loss will generally be income or loss from sources within the United States for foreign tax credit limitation purposes. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations.
PFIC Rules
We believe we were not a PFIC in the prior taxable year and do not expect to become a PFIC in the current taxable year or the foreseeable future. However, this conclusion is a factual determination that is made annually and thus may be subject to change. It is therefore possible that we could become a PFIC in a future taxable year. In addition, our current expectation regarding our PFIC status is based in part upon the value of our goodwill, which is based on the market value for our shares and ADSs, and in part on the rate at which our cash and cash equivalents are spent. Accordingly, we could become a PFIC in the future if there is a substantial decline in the value of our shares and ADSs or we spend our cash or cash equivalents at a slower rate than expected.
In general, if you are a U.S. holder, we will be a PFIC with respect to you if for any taxable year in which you held our ADSs:
•at least 75% of our gross income for the taxable year is passive income, or
•at least 50% of the value, determined on the basis of a quarterly average, of our assets in such taxable year is attributable to assets that produce or are held for the production of passive income.
“Passive income” generally includes dividends, interest, gains from the sale or exchange of investment property, rents and royalties (other than certain rents and royalties derived in the active conduct of a trade or business) and certain other specified categories of income. If a foreign corporation owns at least 25% by value of the stock of another corporation, the foreign corporation is treated for purposes of the PFIC tests as owning its proportionate share of the assets of the other corporation, and as receiving directly its proportionate share of the other corporation’s income.
If we are treated as a PFIC, and you are a U.S. holder that did not make a mark-to-market election, as described below, you will generally be subject to special rules with respect to:
•any gain you realize on the sale or other disposition of your ADSs and
•any excess distribution that we make to you (generally, any distributions to you during a single taxable year, other than the taxable year in which your holding period in the ADSs begins, that are greater than 125% of the average annual distributions received by you in respect of the ADSs during the three preceding taxable years or, if shorter, the portion of your holding period for the ADSs that preceded the taxable year in which you receive the distribution).
Under these rules:
•the gain or excess distribution will be allocated ratably over your holding period for the ADSs,
•the amount allocated to the taxable year in which you realized the gain or excess distribution or to prior years before the first year in which we were a PFIC with respect to you will be taxed as ordinary income,
•the amount allocated to each other prior year will be taxed at the highest tax rate in effect for that year for individuals or corporations, as applicable, and
•the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed in respect of the tax attributable to each such year.
Special rules apply for calculating the amount of the foreign tax credit with respect to excess distributions by a PFIC.
If we are a PFIC in a taxable year and our ADSs are treated as “marketable stock” in such year, you may make a mark-to-market election with respect to your ADSs. If you make this election, you will not be subject to the PFIC rules described above. Instead, in general, you will include as ordinary income each year the excess, if any, of the fair market value of your ADSs at the end of the taxable year over your adjusted basis in your ADSs. You will also be allowed to take an ordinary loss in respect of the excess, if any, of the adjusted basis of your ADSs over their fair market value at the end of the taxable year (but only to the extent of the net amount of previously included income as a result of the mark-to-market election). Your basis in the ADSs will be adjusted to reflect any such income or loss amounts. Any gain that you recognize on the sale or other disposition of your ADSs would be ordinary income and any loss would be an ordinary loss to the extent of the net amount of previously included income as a result of the mark-to-market election and, thereafter, a capital loss.
Under certain attribution rules, if we are considered a PFIC, you will generally be deemed to own a proportionate share of our direct or indirect equity interest in any company that is also a PFIC (a “Subsidiary PFIC”), and will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any indirect gain realized on the stock of a Subsidiary PFIC upon the sale of ADSs, and your proportionate share of any excess distributions on the stock of a Subsidiary PFIC and any gain on a disposition or deemed disposition of the stock of a Subsidiary PFIC by us or by another Subsidiary PFIC. A mark-to-market election will not be available with respect to the stock of any Subsidiary PFIC.
Your ADSs will generally be treated as stock in a PFIC if we were a PFIC at any time during your holding period in your ADSs, even if we are not currently a PFIC unless you make a “deemed sale” election.
In addition, notwithstanding any election you make with regard to the ADSs, dividends that you receive from us will not constitute qualified dividend income to you if we are a PFIC (or are treated as a PFIC with respect to you) either in the taxable year of the distribution or the preceding taxable year. Dividends that you receive that do not constitute qualified dividend income are not eligible for taxation at the preferential rates applicable to qualified dividend income. Instead, you must include the gross amount of any such dividend paid by us out of our accumulated earnings and profits (as determined for United States federal income tax purposes) in your gross income, and it will be subject to tax at rates applicable to ordinary income.
If you own ADSs during any year that we are a PFIC with respect to you, you may be required to file U.S. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Form 8621.
THE DISCUSSION ABOVE IS A GENERAL SUMMARY. IT DOES NOT COVER ALL TAX MATTERS THAT MAY BE IMPORTANT TO YOU. EACH PROSPECTIVE PURCHASER SHOULD CONSULT ITS OWN TAX ADVISOR ABOUT THE TAX CONSEQUENCES OF AN INVESTMENT IN ADSs UNDER THE INVESTOR’S OWN CIRCUMSTANCES.
F. Dividends and Paying Agents
Not applicable.
G. Statement by Experts
Not applicable.
H. Documents on Display
We are required to make certain filings with the SEC. The SEC maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy statements and other information about issuers, like us, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that site is www.sec.gov.
We are subject to the reporting requirements of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as applied to foreign private issuers (the “Exchange Act”). Because we are a foreign private issuer, the SEC’s rules do not require us to deliver proxy statements or to file quarterly reports. In addition, our “insiders” are not subject to the SEC’s rules that prohibit short-swing trading. We prepare quarterly and annual reports containing consolidated financial statements in accordance with IFRS. Our annual consolidated financial statements are certified by an independent accounting firm. We furnish quarterly financial information to the SEC on Form 6-K and file annual reports on Form 20-F within the time period required by the SEC, which is currently four months from the end of the fiscal year on December 31. These quarterly and annual reports can be obtained over the internet at the SEC’s website.
We also make available on our website, free of charge, our annual reports on Form 20-F and the text of our reports on Form 6-K, including any amendments to these reports, as well as certain other SEC filings, as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. Our website address is https://group.jumia.com. The information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference in this document.
We will furnish The Bank of New York Mellon, the depositary of the ADSs, with our annual reports, which will include a review of operations and annual audited consolidated financial statements prepared in conformity with in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB, and all notices of shareholders’ meetings and other reports and communications that are made generally available to our shareholders. The depositary will make such notices, reports and communications available to holders of ADSs and, upon our request, will mail to all record holders of ADSs the information contained in any notice of a shareholders’ meeting received by the depositary from us.
I. Subsidiary Information
Not applicable.
J. Annual Report to Security Holders
Not applicable.
Item 11. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Market Risk
Market risk is the risk that the fair value of future cash flows of a financial instrument will fluctuate because of changes in market prices. Our market risk relates to foreign currency risks. Financial instruments affected by foreign currency risk include cash and cash equivalents, trade and other receivables and trade and other payables. We do not hedge
our foreign currency risk. Financial instruments affected by interest rate risk and security price risk include financial assets measured at fair value.
Foreign Currency Risk
Currency risk is the risk that the fair value of financial assets or financial liabilities held in foreign currency or future cash flows of a financial instrument will fluctuate because of changes in foreign exchange rates.
Due to our international business activities, we are exposed to the risk of changes in foreign exchange rates in connection with trade payables and trade receivables resulting from purchase and sales transactions denominated in a different currency from the functional currency of the respective operation as well as intercompany financing. However, we maintain a natural hedge across most of our cash flows as our revenue streams are generated in local currencies matched by our costs mostly incurred in the respective local currencies, limiting the risk of foreign currency exposure.
In respect of currency risk, management sets limits on the level of exposure by currency and in total. The positions are monitored monthly. We do not use derivatives as hedging instruments to limit its exposure from foreign currency risks.
Foreign Currency Sensitivity
As of December 31, 2024, if the EUR or USD had strengthened/weakened by +/-5 or +/-10% against all other currencies with all other variables held constant, the hypothetical impact in the major local currencies on pre-tax equity and profit before tax would have been as follows, mainly as a result of foreign exchange gains/losses on translation of trade and other receivables, cash as well as trade and other payables denominated in EUR or USD.
The following tables demonstrate the sensitivity to a reasonably possible change in Euros and US dollars and major currencies to which we are exposed (EUR, AED, XOF, KES, MAD, NGN, DZD, GHS, UGX, ZAR, EGP), with all other variables held constant. Our exposure to foreign currency changes for all other currencies is not material.
We assessed a possible change of +/- 5% to Euro (EUR), Algerian Dinar (DZD), West African CFA franc (XOF), Moroccan Dirham (MAD) and Ugandan Shilling (UGX) due to valuation fluctuations in 2024 of (2.6)% to 6.3% of these currencies to the United States Dollar (USD), a possible change of +/- 10% to Kenyan Shilling (KES), Ghanaian Cedi (GHS) and Egyptian Pound (EGP) and Nigerian Naira (NGN) due to valuation fluctuations in 2024 of (17.6)% to 72.5% of these currencies to the United States Dollar (USD). We also assessed a possible change of +/- 5% to Algerian Dinar (DZD), Ugandan Shilling (UGX), Moroccan Dirham (MAD) and United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED) due to valuation fluctuations in 2024 of (8.4)% to (3.7)% of these currencies to the Euro (EUR), a possible change of +/- 10% to Kenyan Shilling (KES), Ghanaian Cedi (GHS), Egyptian Pound (EGP) and Nigerian Naira (NGN) due to valuation fluctuations in 2024 of (22.5)% to 62.3% of these currencies to the EUR. Intercompany loans bear the majority of the Group’s foreign currency risk as they are issued and are repayable in Euro or US dollars. Fluctuation of various exchange rates in Africa and the resulting related foreign exchange gains or losses are recognized in other comprehensive income, when designated as net investment in a foreign operation, finance income or finance costs.
i.the fair value of financial assets or financial liabilities will change due to movements in the interest rate curve; and,
ii.the cash flows of financial assets or financial liabilities will change due to movements in the interest rate curve.
The Group has invested excess cash in financial instruments such as listed investment grade bonds and exchange traded funds pursuant to its cash management strategy, as discussed in Note 13. Changes in the interest rate curve will affect the fair value and/or cash flows of the listed investment grade bonds.
In respect of interest rate risk, management monitors the change in interest rates. The Group does not use derivatives as hedging instruments to limit its exposure from interest rate risks.
As of December 31, 2024, the listed investment grade bonds held by the Group are fixed-rate instruments.
Interest Rate Sensitivity
As of December 31, 2024, if the interest rate curves had changed by +/-50bps, with all other variables held constant, the hypothetical impact on pre-tax equity would have been as follows:
The primary objective of our liquidity and capital management is to monitor the availability of cash and other financial assets and capital in order to support our business expansion and growth. We manage our liquidity and capital structure with reference to economic conditions, performance of our local operations and local regulations. Funding is managed by a central treasury department that monitors the amounts of funds to be granted according to management and Shareholder approval. All funding follows strict operational and legal monitoring executed by the treasury and legal departments.
In 2019, we secured funding via our IPO and a private placement. Most of the funding is transferred to operating entities in the form of loans which are eliminated in consolidation. In December 2020, the Group completed an equity offering. Proceeds from the offering, net of commissions and expenses, were $231.4 million. During March 2021, the Group raised additional equity funding with proceeds, net of commissions and expenses, of $341.0 million and in August 2024, the Group raised another equity funding with proceeds, net of commissions and expenses, of USD 94.7 million.
As all funding has been exclusively obtained from the shareholders and there are no external borrowings, the Group does not incur an interest rate risk at this regard.
Based on the cash flow forecast for 2025, we have sufficient liquidity as of December 31, 2024 for the next twelve months.
Item 12. Description of Securities Other Than Equity Securities
A. Debt Securities
Not applicable.
B. Warrants and Rights
Not applicable.
C. Other Securities
Not applicable.
D. American Depositary Shares
Fees and Expenses Our ADS Holders May Have to Pay
The Bank of New York Mellon, as depositary, will register and deliver ADSs. Each ADS represents 2 of our ordinary shares (or a right to receive 2 ordinary shares) deposited with The Bank of New York Mellon SA/NV, as custodian for the depositary. Each ADS will also represent any other securities, cash or other property which may be held by the depositary. The deposited shares together with any other securities, cash or other property held by the depositary are
referred to as the deposited securities. The depositary’s office at which the ADSs will be administered and its principal executive office are located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10286.
Persons depositing or withdrawing shares or ADS holders must pay:
For:
$5.00 (or less) per 100 ADSs (or portion of 100 ADSs)
Issuance of ADSs, including issuances resulting from a distribution of shares or rights or other property Cancellation of ADSs for the purpose of withdrawal, including if the deposit agreement terminates
$0.05 (or less) per ADS
Any cash distribution to ADS holders
A fee equivalent to the fee that would be payable if securities distributed to you had been shares and the shares had been deposited for issuance of ADSs
Distribution of securities distributed to holders of deposited securities (including rights) that are distributed by the depositary to ADS holders
$0.05 (or less) per ADS per calendar year
Depositary services
Registration or transfer fees
Transfer and registration of shares on our share register to or from the name of the depositary or its agent when you deposit or withdraw shares
Expenses of the depositary
Cable and facsimile transmissions (when expressly provided in the deposit agreement)
Converting foreign currency to US dollars
Taxes and other governmental charges the depositary or the custodian has to pay on any ADSs or shares underlying ADSs, such as stock transfer taxes, stamp duty or withholding taxes
As necessary
Any charges incurred by the depositary or its agents for servicing the deposited securities
As necessary
The depositary collects its fees for delivery and surrender of ADSs directly from investors depositing ordinary shares or surrendering ADSs for the purpose of withdrawal or from intermediaries acting for them. The depositary collects fees for making distributions to investors by deducting those fees from the amounts distributed or by selling a portion of distributable property to pay the fees. The depositary may collect its annual fee for depositary services by deduction from cash distributions or by directly billing investors or by charging the book-entry system accounts of participants acting for them. The depositary may collect any of its fees by deduction from any cash distribution payable (or by selling a portion of securities or other property distributable) to ADS holders that are obligated to pay those fees. The depositary may generally refuse to provide fee-attracting services until its fees for those services are paid.
From time to time, the depositary may make payments to us to reimburse us for costs and expenses generally arising out of establishment and maintenance of the ADS program, waive fees and expenses for services provided to us by the depositary or share revenue from the fees collected from ADS holders. In performing its duties under the deposit agreement, the depositary may use brokers, dealers, foreign currency dealers or other service providers that are owned by or affiliated with the depositary and that may earn or share fees, spreads or commissions.
The depositary may convert currency itself or through any of its affiliates and, in those cases, acts as principal for its own account and not as agent, advisor, broker or fiduciary on behalf of any other person and earns revenue, including, without limitation, transaction spreads, that it will retain for its own account. The revenue is based on, among other things, the difference between the exchange rate assigned to the currency conversion made under the deposit agreement and the rate that the depositary or its affiliate receives when buying or selling foreign currency for its own account. The depositary makes no representation that the exchange rate used or obtained in any currency conversion under the deposit agreement will be the most favorable rate that could be obtained at the time or that the method by which that rate will be determined will be the most favorable to ADS holders, subject to the depositary’s obligations under the deposit agreement. The methodology used to determine exchange rates used in currency conversions is available upon request.
Fees and Other Payments Made by the Depositary to Us
From time to time, the depositary may make payments to us to reimburse us for costs and expenses generally arising out of establishment and maintenance of the ADS program, waive fees and expenses for services provided to us by the depositary or share revenue from the fees collected from ADS holders. For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, no reimbursement was received. In 2024, we entered into a new agreement with the depositary that provides us with an ongoing higher revenue share from the collection of fees from ADS holders. For the year ended December 31, 2024, we received a reimbursement of $1.9 million.
PART II
Item 13. Defaults, Dividend Arrearages and Delinquencies
None.
Item14. MaterialModifications to the Rights of Security Holders and Use of Proceeds
Material Modifications to the Rights of Securities Holders
See Item 10. “Additional Information” for a description of the rights of securities holders, which remain unchanged.
Use of Proceeds
Not applicable.
Item 15. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures (as that term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”)) that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the Company’s reports under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our chief executive officer and executive vice president, finance & operations, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures. Any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. Our management, with the participation of our chief executive officer and executive vice president, finance & operations, has evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2024. Based upon that evaluation, our chief executive officer and executive vice president, finance & operations concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2024.
Management's Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Management of the Company is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). Management assessed the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on the framework in “Internal Control — Integrated Framework” (2013 framework) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).
Based on that assessment, management has concluded that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2024 to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of its financial reporting and the preparation of its financial statements for external purposes, in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.
Due to its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements and can only provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may
become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
The effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting has been audited by Forvis Mazars SA (PCAOB ID 1334) independent registered public accounting firms, as stated in their report on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, which is included herein. See paragraph “Attestation Report of the Registered Public Accounting Firm” of the present Item 15., below.
Attestation Report of the Registered Public Accounting Firm
Forvis Mazars SA, the independent registered public accounting firm that audited our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report, has audited our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, as stated in its report on page F-1.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Except for the remediation efforts described below taken to address the prior year material weaknesses, during the year ended December 31, 2023, there were no other changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this Annual Report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Remediation of Material Weakness in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Item 16I. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
Not applicable.
Item 16J. Insider Trading Policies
We have adopted an Insider Trading Policy, which governs the purchase, sale, and other dispositions of our securities by our employees, our officers, members of the management board and members of the supervisory board of the Company and its subsidiaries, members of the households or immediate family (spouse and minor children) of such persons, and other unrelated persons who live with or are supported by such persons and any other person or entity whose securities trading decisions are influenced or controlled by any of the foregoing, and such other persons identified by our general counsel or a delegate of our general counsel, and which is designed to promote compliance with applicable insider trading laws, rules and regulations, and any listing standards applicable to us. The policy also prohibits the Company from trading based upon material non-public information in our securities. The foregoing summary does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by our Insider Trading Policy, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 11.1 to this Annual Report on Form 20-F.
Item 16K. Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity Risk Management and Strategy
We have developed and implemented a cybersecurity risk management program with a comprehensive, multilayered approach intended to enhance security, manage emerging threats, ensure compliance, and protect infrastructure integrity.
We design and assess our program by integrating best practices from established frameworks and compliance guidelines, including NIST Cybersecurity Framework, AWS CAF (Amazon Web Services Cloud Adoption Framework), Mitre and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This does not mean that we meet any particular technical standards, specifications, or requirements, but only that we use these frameworks and guidelines to help us identify, assess, and manage cybersecurity risks relevant to our business. Our JumiaPay business is PCI-DSS certified.
Information about cybersecurity risks and our risk management processes is collected, analyzed and considered as part of our overall risk management program.
Key components of our cybersecurity risk management program include:
•risk assessments designed to help identify cybersecurity risks to our critical systems, information, services, and our broader enterprise IT environment;
•a security team principally responsible for managing (1) our cybersecurity risk assessment processes, (2) our security controls, and (3) our response to cybersecurity incidents;
•the use of external service providers, where appropriate, to assess, test or otherwise assist with aspects of our security processes;
•cybersecurity awareness training of our employees, incident response personnel and senior management;
•a cybersecurity incident response plan that includes procedures for responding to cybersecurity incidents; and
•secure access control measures applied to critical IT systems, equipment and devices, designed to prevent unauthorized users, processes, and devices from assessing IT systems and data.
At this time, we have not identified risks from known cybersecurity threats, including as a result of any prior cybersecurity incidents, that have materially affected us, including our operations, business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. We may in the future face certain risks from cybersecurity threats that, if realized, are reasonably likely to materially affect us, including our operations, business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. See Item 3. “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—We may experience malfunctions or disruptions of our technology systems.” and “Key Information—D. Risk Factors— We may experience security breaches and disruptions due to hacking, viruses, fraud, malicious attacks and other circumstances.”
Cybersecurity Governance
Our supervisory board considers cybersecurity risk as part of its risk oversight function and has delegated to the audit committee oversight of cybersecurity and other information technology risks. The audit committee oversees our management board’s implementation of our cybersecurity risk management program.
The audit committee receives periodic reports from our management board on our cybersecurity risks. In addition, our management board updates the audit committee, as necessary, regarding any significant cybersecurity incidents.
The management board receives monthly updates from the information security team on our cybersecurity risks. In addition, the information security team updates the management board, as necessary, regarding any material cybersecurity incidents, as well as any incidents with lesser impact potential.
Our information security team, composed of both full-time employees, with formal computer engineering or computer science backgrounds and hands on experience in cybersecurity risk and incident management, and external professional cybersecurity service suppliers, is led by our CISO and is responsible for assessing and managing our material risks from cybersecurity threats.We work with external consulting firms with expertise in cybersecurity governance, risk management and compliance to supplement our internal resources. Those consulting firms support the implementation, management and audit of our cybersecurity management systems procedures and policies. This partnership is designed to enable Jumia to implement a structured, methodical approach to cybersecurity and incident response, and to ensure that the company is protected against current threats and prepared to assess and manage material cybersecurity risks, including those arising from third-party providers.
Our information security team, led by our CISO, is informed about and monitors the prevention, detection, mitigation, and remediation of cybersecurity risks and incidents through various means, which may include, among other things, briefings with internal security personnel, threat intelligence and other information obtained from governmental, public or private sources, including external consultants engaged by us, and alerts and reports produced by security tools deployed in our IT environment.
PART III
Item 17. Financial Statements
We have responded to Item 18 in lieu of responding to this Item.
INS XBRL Instance Document the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.
SCH XBRL Taxonomy Extension Scheme Document
CAL XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for the filing of Form 20-F and has duly caused this Annual Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
JUMIA TECHNOLOGIES AG
Date: March 7, 2025
By
/s/ Francis Dufay
Name:
Francis Dufay
Title:
Chief Executive Officer and
Member of the Management Board
JUMIA TECHNOLOGIES AG
Date: March 7, 2025
By
/s/ Antoine Maillet-Mezeray
Name:
Antoine Maillet-Mezeray
Title:
Executive Vice President, Finance & Operations and
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholders and the Supervisory Board of Jumia Technologies AG
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated statements of financial position of Jumia Technologies AG (the “Group”) as of December 31, 2024, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss), consolidated statements of change in equity and cash-flows for the period ended December 31, 2024, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Group as of December 31, 2024, and the results of its operations and its cash-flows for the period ended December 31, 2024, in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Boards (“IASB”).
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), and our report dated March 7, 2025, expressed an unqualified opinion.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Group’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Group’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Group in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud.
Our audit of the consolidated financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
Provisions for income taxes, uncertain tax positions and related contingent liabilities
Description of the Matter
The Group operates in certain countries where tax systems, regulations, and enforcement processes have varying stages of development creating uncertainty regarding application of tax laws and interpretation of tax treatments. The Group also has contingent liabilities related to potential tax claims arising in the ordinary course of business. As described in Notes 3, 22, 30 and 35 of the consolidated financial statements, this creates uncertainty in the application of tax laws and the interpretation of tax treatments. The resolution of tax positions and claims taken by the Group, through negotiations with relevant tax authorities or through claims and litigations can take several years to complete, and, in some cases, it is difficult to predict the ultimate outcome.
As of December 31, 2024, the Group reported provisions for uncertain tax positions of $24.3 million (including $12.6 million of provisions for income taxes) as well as contingent liabilities of $13.0 million related to various tax contingencies.
Auditing management’s evaluation of the Group’s provisions for income taxes, uncertain tax provisions and related contingent liabilities required significant judgments and a high level of subjectivity to assess the likely application of tax laws and the interpretations of tax treatments made by management.
How we addressed the matter in our audit
The following are the primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter:
•We evaluated the accuracy of the calculations for income tax provisions, uncertain tax positions, and tax contingencies, as well as the assumptions used in these calculations.
•We evaluated the notes prepared by Management, including the Group’s correspondence with the relevant tax authorities, and assessed the underlying facts supporting the tax positions.
•We consulted our tax professionals to evaluate the Group's provisions for uncertain tax positions and its interpretation of relevant tax laws, litigation, and trends.
•Where relevant, we have obtained confirmations from the external advisors who are assisting the Group with these tax matters.
•We evaluated the Group’s disclosures regarding these tax matters as presented in Notes 3, 22, 30, and 35 of the consolidated financial statements.
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholders and the Supervisory Board of Jumia Technologies AG
Opinion on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
We have audited Jumia Technologies AG’s (the “Group”) internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).
In our opinion, the Group maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on the COSO criteria.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”), the accompanying consolidated statements of financial position of Jumia Technologies AG (the “Group”) as of December 31, 2024, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss), consolidated statements of change in equity and cash-flows for the period ended December 31, 2024, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”) and our report dated March 7, 2025, expressed an unqualified opinion.
Basis for Opinion
The Group’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Group’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Group in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.
Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audit also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
A Group’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholders and the Supervisory Board of Jumia Technologies AG
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated statements of financial position of Jumia Technologies AG (the “Group”) as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss), changes in equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Group at December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023, in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”).
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Group’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Group’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Group in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Ernst & Young S.A.
We have served as the Group’s auditor from 2014 to 2023.
Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
March 28, 2024 except for the effects of the change in accounting policy disclosed in Notes 7 and 24, as to which the date is March 7, 2025.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022, 2023 AND 2024
1 Corporate information
The accompanying consolidated financial statements and notes present the operations of Jumia Technologies AG (the “Company” or “Jumia Tech”) and its subsidiaries (the “Group” or “Jumia”).
The Company was incorporated as Africa Internet Holding GmbH on June 26, 2012, and was transformed into Jumia Technologies AG, a German stock corporation on January 31, 2019. The Company is domiciled in Germany and has its registered office located at Skalitzer Strasse 104, 10997 Berlin, Germany. The Group operates in e-commerce across the African continent.
In April 2019 Jumia Tech became a listed company on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), with ticker symbol “JMIA”.
Jumia is the leading pan-African e-commerce platform. Jumia’s platform consists of a marketplace, which connects sellers with customers, a logistics service, which enables the shipping and delivery of packages from sellers to customers, and a payment service, which facilitates transactions among participants active on Jumia’s platform.
The Group has incurred significant losses since its incorporation. The Group expects to continue generating losses as it makes the necessary investments to grow and/or rebalance its business. The Group will therefore continue to require additional funding either from existing or new shareholders.
The consolidated financial statements disclose all matters of which the Group is aware, and which are relevant to the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern, including all significant events and mitigating factors. Further details can be found in Note 34. The consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a basis which assumes that the Group will continue as a going concern, and which contemplates the recoverability of assets and the satisfaction of the liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. The Group has sufficient resources to operate as a going concern for the next 12 months.
On March 5, 2025 the Supervisory Board authorized these consolidated financial statements for issuance.
2 Summary of accounting policies
The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these consolidated financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented, unless otherwise stated.
a) Basis of preparation
The consolidated financial statements of the Group (“consolidated financial statements”) have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the IASB.
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a historical cost basis except for certain financial assets and share-based compensation plans, which have been measured at fair value (as further disclosed within this Note). The consolidated financial statements are presented in US dollars and all values are rounded to the nearest thousand ($000), except when otherwise indicated.
b) Basis of consolidation
The consolidated financial statements comprise the financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries. The financial statements of the subsidiaries are prepared for the same reporting year as the Company, using consistent accounting policies.
Subsidiaries are those investees that the Group controls because the Group (i) has power to direct relevant activities of the investees that significantly affect their returns, (ii) has exposure, or rights, to variable returns from its
involvement with the investees, and (iii) has the ability to use its power over the investees to affect the amount of Group’s returns.
Consolidation of a subsidiary begins when the Group obtains control over the subsidiary and ceases when the Group loses control of the subsidiary. Assets, liabilities, revenue and expense of a subsidiary acquired or disposed of during the year are included in the consolidated financial statements from the date the Group gains control until the date the Group ceases to control the subsidiary. A change in the ownership interest of a subsidiary, without a loss of control, is accounted for as an equity transaction. If the Group loses control over a subsidiary, it derecognizes the related assets, liabilities, non-controlling interest and other components of equity, while any resultant gain or loss is recognized in profit or loss. As of December 31, 2022, 2023 and 2024, the Group consolidated 67, 65 and 63 legal entities, respectively.
c) Current versus non-current classification
The Company presents assets and liabilities in the consolidated statement of financial position based on current/non-current classification. An asset is current when it is expected to be realized or intended to be sold or consumed in the normal operating cycle, held primarily for the purpose of trading or expected to be realized within twelve months after the reporting period. Cash and cash equivalents are presented as current unless restricted from being exchanged or used to settle a liability for at least twelve months after the reporting period. All other assets are classified as non-current. A liability is current when it is expected to be settled in the normal operating cycle, it is held primarily for the purpose of trading, it is due to be settled within twelve months after the reporting period, or there is no right to defer the settlement of the liability for at least twelve months after the reporting period. All other liabilities are classified as non-current.
d) Property and equipment
Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and any impairment losses.
Costs of minor repairs and maintenance are expensed when incurred. The cost of replacing major parts or components of property and equipment items are capitalized and the replaced part is written off.
Whenever events or changes in market conditions indicate a risk of impairment of property and equipment, management estimates the recoverable amount, which is determined as the higher of an asset’s fair value less costs to sell and its value in use. The carrying amount is reduced to the recoverable amount and the impairment loss is recognized in profit or loss for the year.
Depreciation on items of property and equipment is calculated using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives, as follows:
Useful life in years
Buildings
Up to 40
Transportation equipment
5 to 8
Technical equipment and machinery
3 to 10
Office equipment
5 to 15
Leasehold improvements
Shorter of useful life and the term of the underlying lease
The assets’ useful lives are reviewed, and adjusted if appropriate, at the end of each reporting period. A recognized item of property and equipment and any significant part is derecognized upon disposal (i.e., at the date the recipient obtains control) or when no future economic benefits are expected from its use or disposal. Any gain or loss arising on derecognition of the asset (calculated as the difference between the net disposal proceeds and the carrying amount of the asset) is included in the statement of operations when the asset is derecognized.
e) Leases
The Group assesses at contract inception whether a contract is, or contains, a lease. That is, if the contract conveys the right to control the use of an identified asset for a period of time in exchange for consideration. The Group only acts as a lessee.
The Group applies a single recognition and measurement approach for all leases, except for short-term leases and leases of low-value assets. The Group recognizes lease liabilities to make lease payments and right-of-use assets representing the right to use the underlying assets.
Right-of-use assets
The Group recognizes right-of-use assets at the commencement date of the lease (i.e., the date the underlying asset is available for use). Right-of-use assets are measured at cost, less any accumulated depreciation and impairment losses, and adjusted for any remeasurement of lease liabilities. The cost of right-of-use assets includes the amount of lease liabilities recognized, initial direct costs incurred, and lease payments made at or before the commencement date less any lease incentives received. Right-of-use assets are recognized in the statement of financial position as “Property and equipment” and are depreciated on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the lease term and the estimated useful lives of the assets, as follows:
•Offices and Warehouses - 2 to 10 years
•Motor vehicles and other equipment 2 to 6 years
Lease liabilities
At the commencement date of the lease, the Group recognizes lease liabilities measured at the present value of lease payments to be made over the lease term. The lease payments include fixed payments (including, in substance fixed payments) less any lease incentives receivable, variable lease payments that depend on an index or a rate, and amounts expected to be paid under residual value guarantees. The lease payments also include the exercise price of a purchase option reasonably certain to be exercised by the Group and payments of penalties for terminating the lease, if the lease term reflects the Group exercising the option to terminate. The lease liabilities are recognized in the statement of financial position as 'Current borrowings' or 'Non-current borrowings'.
In calculating the present value of lease payments, the Group uses its incremental borrowing rate at the lease commencement date because the interest rate implicit in the lease is not readily determinable. After the commencement date, the amount of lease liabilities is increased to reflect the accretion of interest and reduced for the lease payments made.
In addition, the carrying amount of lease liabilities is remeasured if there is a modification, a change in the lease term, a change in the lease payments (e.g., changes to future payments resulting from a change in an index or rate used to determine such lease payments) or a change in the assessment of an option to purchase the underlying asset.
Short-term leases and leases of low-value assets
The Group applies the short-term lease recognition exemption to its short-term leases of machinery and equipment (i.e., those leases that have a lease term of 12 months or less from the commencement date and do not contain a purchase option). It also applies the lease of low-value assets recognition exemption to leases of office equipment that are considered to be of low value. Lease payments on short-term leases and leases of low value assets are recognized as expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term.
Lease expenses are primarily classified as ‘General and administrative expense’.
f) Financial instruments – initial recognition and subsequent measurement
A financial instrument is any contract that gives rise to a financial asset of one entity and a financial liability or equity instrument of another entity.
Financial assets
The Group has financial assets in the form of bank deposits, trade notes and accounts receivable and other receivables and financial investments included in the item “Term deposits and other financial assets”.
With the exception of trade receivables that do not contain a significant financing component, the Group initially measures a financial asset at its fair value plus, in the case of a financial asset not at fair value through profit or loss, transaction costs. Trade receivables that do not contain a significant financing component are measured at the transaction price determined under IFRS 15. Trade and other receivables are subsequently measured at amortized cost using the effective interest rate method.
The classification of financial assets that are debt instruments at initial recognition depends on the financial asset’s contractual cash flow characteristics and the Group’s business model for managing them.
Contractual cash flows arising from the financial assets are assessed by the Group as to whether they are ‘solely payments of principal and interest (SPPI)’ on the principal amount outstanding. This assessment is referred to as the SPPI test and is performed at an instrument level. The business model for managing financial assets that are debt instruments is either “hold to collect”, “hold to collect and sell” or other (such as when the asset is held for trading or is otherwise managed on a fair value basis).
In order for a financial asset that is a debt instrument to be classified and subsequently measured at amortized cost, contractual cash flows need to arise as SPPI and the business model for the financial asset must be to “hold to collect”. Amortized cost is measured according to effective interest rate method and interest income is recognized in “Finance income”.
A financial asset that is a debt instrument is classified and subsequently measured at fair value through other comprehensive income, if arising contractual cash flows are SPPI and the business model for the financial asset is “hold to collect and sell”.
Interest income is measured according to effective interest rate method and recognized in “Finance income”. Changes in fair value are recognized in other comprehensive income, and the accumulated amount is presented in the statement of financial position in Other reserves. The fair value reserve is reclassified to profit or loss when the investments are derecognized. Gains and losses upon disposal or maturity are recognized in “Finance income” or “Finance costs”. Changes in the allowance for expected credit losses are recognized in the statement of profit or loss in “Finance income” or “Finance costs”, against the fair value reserve.
Investments in debt instruments for which cash flows are not SPPI or for which the business model is “hold to sell” are subsequently measured at fair value through profit or loss. Interest income is recognized on an accrual basis and presented in “Finance income”. Changes in fair value are recognized in the statement of profit or loss in “Finance income” or “Finance costs”.
Derecognition
Financial assets are derecognized when, and only when the contractual rights to the cash flows from the financial asset expire, or the group transfers the financial asset and the transfer qualifies for derecognition.
Impairment – expected credit losses model
Impairment of investments in debt instruments subsequently measured at amortized cost or fair value through other comprehensive income, as well as of contract assets within the scope of IFRS 15, is recognized as an expected credit loss allowance against these assets, according to the IFRS 9 3-stage model based on changes in credit quality since initial recognition. A simplified approach is available for trade receivables and contract assets that do not contain a significant financing component.
Stage 1 includes financial instruments that have not had a significant increase in credit risk since initial recognition or that, under the available practical expedient, have low credit risk at the reporting date. For these assets, 12-month expected credit losses are recognized and interest revenue is calculated on their gross carrying amount.
Stage 2 includes financial instruments that have had a significant increase in credit risk since initial recognition (except if they have low credit risk at the reporting date) but that do not have objective evidence of impairment. For these
assets, the allowance includes lifetime expected credit losses, and interest revenue is calculated on their gross carrying amount.
Stage 3 includes financial assets that have objective evidence of impairment at the reporting date. For these assets, the allowance is for lifetime expected credit losses and interest revenue is calculated on their carrying amount (net of the expected credit loss allowance).
Impairment – accounts receivable
The Group applies the IFRS 9 simplified approach to measuring expected credit losses (ECL) which uses a lifetime expected loss allowance for all trade receivables. The estimated ECL are calculated based on actual credit loss experience over a period that, per business, countries and type of customers, is considered statistically relevant and representative of the specific characteristics of the underlying credit risk. When calculating ECL, the expected recovery from collateral is taken into account. The Group has the contractual right to dispose of marketplace products and apply all proceeds of sales to discharge any amounts that are owed by sellers.
Using the practical expedient that is allowed by the standard, the Group has established provision matrices that are based on its historical credit loss experience for the previous years, adjusted for non-recurring events and for forward-looking factors per country which incorporate several macroeconomic elements such as the countries’ GDP and unemployment rates. The expected loss rates are reviewed annually, or when there is a significant change in external factors potentially impacting credit risk, and are updated where management’s expectations of credit losses change. The Group writes off accounts receivable no later than when the balance becomes 12 months past due.
Default and write-off of financial assets
The Group determines the probability of default upon the initial recognition of the asset. However, the Group may also consider a financial asset to be in default when internal or external information indicates that the Group is unlikely to receive the outstanding contractual amounts in full before taking into account any credit enhancements held by the Group. A financial asset is written off when there is no reasonable expectation of recovering the contractual cash flows.
Impairment – other financial assets
The Group’s maximum exposure to credit risk for other financial assets as of December 31, 2023 and 2024 is the respective carrying amount.
As of December 31, 2023 and 2024, all of the Group’s debt investments measured at fair value through other comprehensive income are considered to have low credit risk, and the loss allowance recognized during the period was therefore limited to the expected credit losses for 12 months. Management considers ‘low credit risk’ for listed bonds to be an investment grade credit rating by a major rating agency. The Group considers that credit risk increases significantly if the credit rating deteriorates to a non-investment grade rating.
The probability of default (PD) and loss given default (LGD) are determined for the investments on an individual basis, using available public corporate PD and LGD assessments of the securities performed by credit rating agencies, which incorporate both historical and forward-looking information, according to market standards. Forward-looking information includes credit rating outlooks and economic forecast measured using country gross domestic product (GDP) and credit default swap (CDS).
Financial liabilities
The Group has financial liabilities in the form of trade and other payables that are initially recognized at fair value which primarily represents the original invoiced amount. They are subsequently measured at amortized cost using the effective interest method. Interest expense is recognized in “Finance costs”. Trade and other payables are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Deferred income is subsequently recognized as revenue in the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss). A financial liability is derecognized when the obligation under the liability is discharged, cancelled or expired.
Financial assets and financial liabilities are offset and the net amount is reported in the consolidated statement of financial position if there is a currently enforceable legal right to offset the recognized amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realize the assets and settle the liabilities simultaneously.
g) Impairment of non-financial assets
The Group assesses, at each reporting date, whether there is an indication that an asset with definite useful life may be impaired. If any indication exists the Group estimates the asset’s recoverable amount. An asset’s recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s or cash-generating-unit’s (CGU) fair value less costs of disposal and its value-in-use. The recoverable amount is determined for an individual asset, unless the asset does not generate cash inflows that are largely independent of those from other assets or groups of assets. When the carrying amount of an asset or CGU exceeds its recoverable amount, the asset or CGU is considered impaired and is written down to its recoverable amount.
h) Inventories
Inventories are valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost of inventory is determined on the first-in-first out basis (FIFO) method. The cost of inventory includes purchase costs and costs incurred to bring the inventories to their present location and condition. Net realizable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business, less estimated costs of completion and the estimated costs necessary to make the sale. Impairment losses, if any, due to obsolete materials and slow inventory movement are deducted from the carrying amount of the inventories.
i) Cash and cash equivalents and term deposits
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, and other short-term highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, for which the risk of changes in value is insignificant.
Term deposits are deposits placed with banks with an original maturity of more than three months and, therefore, not included as ‘cash and cash equivalents’ in the statements of financial position and consolidated statement of cash flows.
j) Value-added tax
Output value-added tax (“VAT”) related to sales is payable to tax authorities on the earlier of (a) collection of receivables from customers or (b) delivery of goods or services to customers. Input VAT is generally recoverable against output VAT upon receipt of the VAT invoice. The net amount of VAT recoverable from, or payable to, the taxation authority is included as part of receivables or payables in the statement of financial position. When input and output VAT expire or are settled in different patterns, VAT is recognized in the statement of financial position and disclosed separately as an asset and liability.
Where a provision has been made for impairment of receivables, the gross amount of the debtor, including VAT, is provided for.
If the effect of the time value of money is material, tax receivables and payables are discounted using a current pre-tax rate that reflects, when appropriate, the risks specific to the asset or liability. When discounting is used, the increase in the asset or liability due to the passage of time is recognized as a finance cost.
k) Provisions and contingent liabilities
Provisions are recognized when the Group has a present obligation (legal or constructive) because of a past event, it is probable that an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation and a reliable estimate can be made of the amount of the obligation. When the Group expects some or all provision to be reimbursed, for example, under an insurance contract, the reimbursement is recognized as a separate asset, but only when the reimbursement is virtually certain.
The expense relating to a provision is presented in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive income (loss) along with any reimbursement. If the effect of the time value of money is material, provisions are discounted
The Group provides advertising services to sellers and non-sellers, such as performance marketing campaigns, placing banners on the Jumia platform or sending newsletters and notifications. The advertising services are contractually agreed with the advertisers. As Jumia establishes pricing and is primarily obliged to deliver these advertising services, revenue is recognized on a gross basis. The campaigns and banners can be run for a short period as well as be spread over a year and are therefore recognized at a point in time or over the period.
(4) Value-added services
The Group provides other services to sellers for which it charges a fee such as warehousing services for products. As Jumia establishes pricing, revenue is recognized on a gross basis. Revenue for warehousing is recognized over the period of storage of the goods.
(5) Other revenue
The Group provides logistic services, such as transportation of goods, to non-sellers. Jumia is deciding the price and assuming the risk of non-performing these services and is deemed the principal in this activity. The performance obligation is satisfied when the shipping services are completed.
Variable consideration
If the consideration in a contract includes a variable amount, the Group estimates the amount of consideration to which it will be entitled in exchange for transferring the goods to the customer. The variable consideration is estimated at contract inception and constrained until it is highly probable that a significant revenue reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the associated uncertainty with the variable consideration is subsequently resolved.
The Group uses the expected value method to estimate the variable consideration given the large number of contracts that have similar characteristics. The Group then applies the requirements on constraining estimates of variable consideration in order to determine the amount of variable consideration that can be included in the transaction price and recognized as revenue. A refund liability is recognized for the goods that are expected to be returned (i.e., the amount not included in the transaction price) and a right of return asset for the right to recover products when a refund liability is settled.
Customer incentives and subsidies
The Group grants incentives to its end customers and subsidies to its marketplace sellers. Incentives to end customers, which include discounts or vouchers, and marketplace subsidies to sellers are consideration payable to a customer and are recognized as a reduction of revenue.
Cost to obtain a contract
The Group pays sales commission or fees to parties for each contract that they obtain. The Group applies the optional practical expedient to immediately expense costs to obtain a contract if the amortization period of the asset that would have been recognized is one year or less. As such, sales commissions and fees are immediately recognized as an expense and included as part of sales and advertising expense.
Cost of revenue
The Group’s cost of revenue includes the external costs directly attributable to fulfilling the performance obligations mentioned above, such as the purchase price of customer products where Jumia acts directly as the seller. Certain expenses associated with third-party sales, such as compensation paid to sellers for lost, damaged or late delivery items, and shipping costs related to logistics services to non-sellers are also included in cost of revenue.
n) Fulfillment expense
Fulfillment expense consists of expense related to services of third-party logistics providers and payment processing expenses, which we refer to as freight and shipping, and expense mainly related to our network of warehouses, including employee benefit expense, which we refer to as fulfillment expense other than freight and shipping. Fulfillment expense other than freight and shipping represents those expenses incurred in operating and staffing our fulfillment and customer service centers, including expense attributable to procuring, receiving, inspecting, and warehousing inventories and picking, packaging, and preparing customer orders for shipment, including packaging materials. Lease expenses are primarily classified as “General and administrative expense”. Fulfillment expense also includes expense relating to customer service operations.
o) Sales and advertising expense
Sales and advertising expenses represent expenses associated with the promotion of our marketplace and include online and offline marketing expenses, promotion of the brand through traditional media outlets, certain expense related to our customer acquisition and engagement activities and other expense associated with our market presence.
p) Technology and content expense
Technology and content expenses consist principally of research and development activities, as these do not meet the criteria for recognition as intangible assets, including wages and benefits for employees involved in application, production, maintenance, operation for new and existing goods and services, as well as other technology infrastructure expense.
q) General and administrative expense
General and administrative expense contains wages and benefits, including share-based compensation expense, of management, seller management expense, accounting and legal staff expense, consulting expense, audit expense, lease expense, office related utilities expense, insurance expense, tax expense other than income tax, other overheads and other material general expenses.
Wages, salaries, paid annual leave and sick leave, bonuses, and other benefits (such as health services) are accrued in the year in which the associated services are rendered by the employees of the Group.
s) Share-based compensation
The Group operates share-based compensation plans, under which directors and employees receive compensation in the form of equity instruments of the Company or cash for the services provided, which is based on the fair value of equity instruments. Awards are granted with service and/or performance conditions.
For equity settled instruments, the total amount to be expensed for services received is determined by reference to the grant date fair value of the share-based compensation award made. For share-based compensation awards, we analyze whether the exercise price paid (or payable) by a participant, if any, exceeds the market price of the underlying equity instruments at the grant date. Any excess of (i) the estimated market value of the equity instruments and (ii) the exercise price results in share-based compensation expense.
The share-based compensation is expensed on a straight-line basis over the vesting period with a corresponding credit to equity. Management estimates the number of awards that will eventually vest. For awards with graded-vesting features, each installment of the award is treated as a separate grant (i.e., each installment is separately expensed over the related vesting period).
For equity settled instruments,
i.option awards issued by the Group are initially measured using Black-Scholes valuation model on the grant date and are not subsequently re-measured, and
ii.virtual restricted stock units (VRSUs) are initially measured at the observable stock price of Jumia on the grant date and are not subsequently re-measured
For cash-settled share-based compensation, a liability is recognized for the goods or services acquired, measured initially at the fair value derived from the observable stock price of Jumia at grant date. At each reporting date until the liability is settled, and at the date of settlement, the fair value of the liability is remeasured, with any changes in fair value recognized in general and administrative expenses.
Certain of Jumia’s share-based compensation transactions are subject to non-market performance targets.
Depending on the vesting period and the performance measurement period, performance targets are classified as (i) non-vesting conditions or (ii) non-market performance vesting conditions.
For non-vesting condition, the probability of achieving the performance target derived from a Monte Carlo simulation, is included in the computation of the award’s fair value and is not subsequently re-assessed.
Non-market performance vesting conditions are not taken into consideration when determining the grant date fair value of an award. Instead, they are taken into consideration when estimating the number of awards that will vest. On a cumulative basis, no amount is recognized for goods or services received where an award does not vest, because a specified non-market performance vesting condition has not been met. As a result, the IFRS 2 expense can change during the vesting period, depending on changes in expectations. The number of awards, subject to non-market performance conditions, that will vest is based on the most likely outcome derived from a Monte Carlo valuation model.
For certain share-based compensation transactions the length of the vesting period depends on meeting a certain market condition. A market condition is a performance condition upon which the exercise price, vesting or exercisability of an equity instrument depends/ relates to the market price of the entity’s equity instruments. Where the length of the vesting period depends on when a market performance condition is satisfied, the estimate of the expected length of the vesting period is based on the most likely outcome of the performance condition derived from a Monte Carlo valuation model and is not subsequently revised.
When an award is cancelled (other than by forfeiture for failure to satisfy the vesting conditions) during the vesting period, it is treated as an acceleration of vesting, and the entity recognizes immediately the amount that would otherwise have been recognized for services received over the remainder of the vesting period. When an award is surrendered by an employee (other than by forfeiture for failure to satisfy the vesting conditions), it is accounted for as a cancellation.
In case there is modification of awards, from equity-settled to cash-settled, a liability is recognized based on the fair value of the cash-settled award on the date of the modification and to the extent to which the vesting period has expired. The entire corresponding debit is taken to equity.
Where an award is modified from cash-settled to equity-settled, the amount recognized as a liability, up to the modification date is reclassified to equity. The expense for the remainder of the vesting period is based on the award’s fair value, measured at the modification date.
t) Income taxes
The income tax charge comprises of current tax and deferred tax and is recognized in profit or loss for the year, unless it relates to transactions that are recognized directly in equity.
Current taxes are measured at the amount expected to be paid to or recovered from the taxation authorities on the taxable profits or losses based on the prevailing tax rates on the reporting date and any adjustments to taxes payable in previous years. Taxable profits or losses are based on estimates if financial statements are authorized prior to filing relevant tax returns. Management periodically evaluates positions taken in the tax returns with respect to situations in which applicable tax regulations are subject to interpretation and establishes provisions where appropriate.
The calculation of deferred taxes is based on the balance sheet liability method that refers to the temporary differences between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their carrying amounts. The method of calculating deferred taxes depends on how the asset’s carrying amount is expected to be realized and how the liabilities will be paid. However, in accordance with the initial recognition exemption, deferred taxes are not recorded for temporary differences on initial recognition of an asset or a liability in a transaction other than a business combination if the transaction, when initially recorded, affects neither accounting nor taxable profit and does not give rise to equal taxable and deductible temporary differences. Deferred taxes are measured at tax rates enacted or substantively enacted at the end of the reporting period. Deferred tax assets are offset against deferred tax liabilities if the taxes are levied by the same taxation authority and the entity has a legally enforceable right to offset current tax assets against current tax liabilities. Deferred tax assets for deductible temporary differences and tax loss carry forwards are recorded only to the extent that they are believed to be recoverable.
u) Segments
Operating segments are reported in a manner consistent with the internal reporting provided to the chief operating decision-maker (CODM), which are the same figures as those presented in the statement of operations. The chief operating decision maker is comprised of the CEO and the Executive Vice President, Finance & Operations. In the periods presented, the Group had one operating and reportable segment. The CODM makes decisions as to how to allocate resources based on the long-term growth potential of the Group as determined by market research, growth potential in regions, and various internal key performance indicators.The Group’s geographical distribution of revenue and property and equipment was as follows:
(1)West Africa covers Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Ghana.
(2)North Africa covers Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria.
(3)East and South Africa covers Kenya, Uganda and South Africa.
(4)Portugal and Germany
v) Discontinued operations
A discontinued operation is a component of an entity that either has been disposed of, or is classified as held for sale, and represents a separate major line of business or geographical area of operations, is part of a single co-ordinated plan to dispose of a separate major line of business or geographical area of operations or is a subsidiary acquired exclusively with a view to resale.
In the 'Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss)', discontinued operations are excluded from the results of continuing operations and are presented as a single amount as 'Loss after Income tax for the period from discontinued operations'. Corresponding notes to the 'Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss)' exclude amounts for discontinued operations, unless stated otherwise. Discontinued Operations are disclosed in Note 6.
x) Hyperinflationary economies
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) World Economic Outlook (WEO) report released in October 2024 and October 2023, Ghana experienced significant inflation. The three-year cumulative inflation as of December 31, 2023, was 114%, with the projected three-year cumulative inflation estimated to reach 118% by the end of 2024 and 53% by the end of 2025. This data, supported by the Ghana Statistical Service, led to Ghana meeting the requirements to be designated as a hyperinflationary economy under IAS 29 'Financial Reporting in Hyperinflationary Economies' for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023.
The IMF WEO projected three-year cumulative inflation rates of 96% in Egypt and 102% in Nigeria by the end of 2024, with both economies expected to reach 101% by the end of 2025. However, other qualitative indicators in IAS 29 were inconclusive, and various fiscal and economic interventions were expected to positively impact both economies. Consequently, these economies were not considered hyperinflationary in the year ended December 31, 2024.
The Group has applied hyperinflationary accounting, as specified in IAS 29, to Jade E-Services Ghana Ltd.'s operations in Ghana where the Ghanaian Cedi is the functional currency for the reporting period beginning January 1, 2023.
The consumer price index (CPI) issued by the Ghana Statistical Service was selected as the inflation index to reflect the change in purchasing power. The CPI reached 248.3 in December 31, 2024, 200.5 in December 31, 2023 and 162.8 in December 31, 2022. The annual movement on the index was 23.8% in 2024 and 23,2% in 2023.
In accordance with IAS 29, for the Group's operations in Ghana:
•The carrying amounts of non-monetary assets and liabilities have been re-presented to reflect the change in the general price index from the date of acquisition to the end of the reporting period. All items recognized in the income statement have been re-presented by applying the change in the general price index from the dates when the items of income and expenses were initially earned or incurred to the end of the reporting period and the
income statement items were translated to the presentation currency at the closing foreign exchange rate instead of an average rate.
•As the presentation currency of the Group is that of a non-hyperinflationary economy, comparative amounts have not been re-presented for changes in the price level or exchange rates. The combined effect of the re-presentation in accordance with IAS 29 and the currency translation adjustment in accordance with IAS 21 is recognized in 'Other reserves' through 'Other comprehensive loss on net investment in foreign operations'. Similar treatment was followed to reflect the impacts in opening balance as of January 1, 2023.
3 Significant accounting estimates, judgments and assumptions in applying accounting policies
The preparation of the Group’s consolidated financial statements requires its management to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities, and the accompanying disclosures, including disclosure of contingent liabilities. Uncertainty about these assumptions and estimates could result in outcomes that require a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets or liabilities affected in future periods.
Judgments
In the process of applying the Group’s accounting policies, management has made the following judgments, which have the most significant effect on the amounts recognized in the consolidated financial statements:
Climate change
Up to now, the Group has not been significantly impacted by climate change, and, currently, Management has not considered the climate-related risks as part of the Group's top key risks. Nevertheless, Management will continue monitoring every year the potential risks resulting from the effects of climate change. So far, Management has not identified nor considered any material impacts of climate change on assumptions used and, on the Group's financial reporting (e.g. provisions, fixed assets, etc.).
Determining the lease term of contracts with renewal and termination options – Group as lessee
The Group determines the lease term as the non-cancellable term of the lease, together with any periods covered by an option to extend the lease if it is reasonably certain to be exercised, or any periods covered by an option to terminate the lease, if it is reasonably certain not to be exercised.
The Group has several lease contracts that include extension and termination options. The Group applies judgement in evaluating whether it is reasonably certain whether or not to exercise the option to renew or terminate the lease. That is, it considers all relevant factors that create an economic incentive for it to exercise either the renewal or termination. After the commencement date, the Group reassesses the lease term if there is a significant event or change in circumstances that is within its control and affects its ability to exercise or not to exercise the option to renew or to terminate (e.g., construction of significant leasehold improvements or significant customization to the leased asset).
The Group has several lease contracts that include extension and termination options. These options are negotiated by management to align with the Group’s business needs.
The Group has assessed potential future rental payments relating to periods following the exercise date of extension and termination options that are not included in the lease term, and determined that there are no significant extension options expected not to be exercised nor significant termination options expected to be exercised.
The Group applied the following judgements that significantly affect the determination of the amount and timing of revenue from contracts with customers:
Principal versus agent considerations
The Group enters into contracts where it acts as a seller and determines the price and bears the obligation to deliver those goods to the customer. Under these contracts, the Group determines that it controls the goods before they are transferred to customers and hence is a principal. Additionally, in cases where the group enters into transactions wherein it provides marketing services, it is obliged to render the services as well as has the discretion to set the price, and hence is considered as a principal in such transactions.
In cases where the Group enters into a contract that provides the selling platform to sellers to sell goods and services to customers, the Group has no discretion in setting the price and has no inventory risk and hence is considered to be the agent in such transactions. The fulfillment services are seen as activities to fulfill the promise to transfer the goods to customers. The sale and the delivery services together constitute a single performance obligation.
Classification and presentation of other financial assets
The Group acquired investment grade bonds managed via a discretionary fund and securities. These investments are included in the statement of financial position as other financial assets. Investments in securities were fully disposed of in 2023, with those held in 2024 also fully disposed of within the period. Further details can be found in Note 13 and 29.
Based on the terms of the discretionary fund agreement, the Group determines itself to be the principal in holding the investments in the bonds, which, as set out in the investment parameters, are held under a “hold to collect and sell” business model. The investments held via the discretionary fund are directly recognized by the Group and classified as financial assets measured at fair value through other comprehensive income.
The amounts of other financial assets are presented as current whenever maturity of the investments is within 12 months of the reporting date or if the Group expects to sell the asset within 12 months.
Estimates and assumptions
Regional Conflicts
The effects of ongoing regional conflicts have required reassessment of significant judgments and estimates to be made, including but not limited to:
•Estimates of net realizable value (NRV) of inventory may be subject to more estimation uncertainty than in the past, and determining the appropriate assumptions may require significant judgment.; and,
•Estimates of expected credit losses (ECL) attributable to accounts receivable arising from sales to customers on credit terms, including the incorporation of forward-looking information to supplement historical credit loss rates.
The Group has assessed that the ongoing regional conflicts did not have a significant impact on estimates and judgments. The Group continues to assess potential impact on an ongoing basis, more particularly as it relates to ECL and NRV provisions.
Provisions for income taxes, uncertain tax positions and related contingent liabilities
The Group operates in certain countries where the application of tax rules to complex transactions is sometimes open to interpretation, both by the Group and taxation authorities. Tax systems, regulations and enforcement processes also have varying stages of development creating uncertainty regarding application of tax law and interpretation of tax treatments. The Group is also subject to regular tax audits in the countries where it operates. When there is uncertainty over whether the taxation authority will accept a specific tax treatment under the local tax law, that tax treatment is considered
uncertain. The resolution of tax positions taken by the Group, through negotiations with relevant tax authorities or through litigation, can take several years to complete and, in some cases, it is difficult to predict the ultimate outcome. Therefore, Management’s estimate is required to determine provisions for taxes.
Uncertain tax positions are assessed and reviewed by management at the end of each reporting period. Liabilities are recorded for tax positions that are determined by management as more likely than not to result in additional taxes being levied if the positions were to be challenged by the tax authorities. The assessment relies on estimates and assumptions and may involve a series of judgments about future events. These judgments are based on the interpretation of tax laws that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the end of the reporting period, and any known court or other rulings on such issues. Liabilities for penalties, interest and taxes are recognized based on management’s best estimate of the expenditure required to settle the obligations at the end of the reporting period. Management’s best estimate of the amount to be provided is determined by their judgment and, in some cases, reports from independent experts. Further details can be found in note 22, 30 and 35.
Impairment of trade and other receivables
The Group applies the IFRS 9 simplified approach to measuring expected credit losses (ECL) which uses a lifetime expected loss allowance for all trade receivables. The estimated ECL are calculated based on actual credit loss experience over a period that, per business, countries and type of customers, is considered statistically relevant and representative of the specific characteristics of the underlying credit risk.
Using the practical expedient that is allowed by the standard, the Group has established provision matrices that are based on its historical credit loss experience for the previous years, adjusted for non-recurring events and for forward-looking factors per country which incorporate several macroeconomic elements such as the countries’ GDP and unemployment rates. The expected loss rates are reviewed annually, or when there is a significant change in external factors potentially impacting credit risk, and are updated where management’s expectations of credit losses change.
Generally, trade receivables are written-off if past due for more than one year and are not subject to enforcement activity under credit risk.
4 New accounting pronouncements
a) New standards, interpretations and amendments adopted by the Group
The impact of the adoption of the new standards and amendments to standards that became effective as of January 1, 2024 is as follows:
IFRS 16 amendment on Lease Liability in a Sale and Leaseback
On 22 September 2022, the IASB issued 'Lease Liability in a Sale and Leaseback (Amendments to IFRS 16)' that requires a seller-lessee to subsequently measure lease liabilities arising from a leaseback in a way that it does not recognize any amount of the gain or loss that relates to the right of use it retains. The new requirements do not prevent a seller-lessee from recognizing in profit or loss any gain or loss relating to the partial or full termination of a lease. These amendments are not applicable to the financial statements of Jumia.
IAS 1 ("Presentation of Financial Statements") amendment on the classification of debt with covenants
On 31 October 2022, the IASB issued 'Non-current Liabilities with Covenants (Amendments to IAS 1)' that i) modifies the requirements introduced by amendments to IAS 1: Classification of Liabilities as Current or Non-current in January 2020 on how an entity classifies debt and other financial liabilities as current or non-current in particular circumstances: Only covenants with which an entity is required to comply on or before the reporting date affect the classification of a liability as current or non-current. In addition, an entity has to disclose information in the notes that enables users of financial statements to understand the risk that non-current liabilities with covenants could become repayable within twelve months.; and ii) defers the effective date of the 2020 amendments to 1 January 2024. The amendments are applied retrospectively in accordance with IAS 8 and earlier application is permitted. These amendments are not applicable to the financial statements of Jumia.
IAS 7 ("Statement of Cash Flows") and IFRS 7 amendment on supplier finance arrangements
On 25 May 2023, the IASB issued 'Supplier finance arrangements (Amendments to IAS 7 and IFRS 7)' that require an entity to provide additional disclosures about its supplier finance arrangements to enable: i) the assessment of how supplier finance arrangements affect an entity’s liabilities and cash flows; and ii) the understanding of the effect of supplier finance arrangements on an entity’s exposure to liquidity risk and how the entity might be affected if the arrangements were no longer available. These amendments are not applicable to the financial statements of Jumia.
b) Standards issued but not yet effective
The Group has not early adopted any other standard, interpretation or amendment that has been issued but is not yet effective. The new and amended standards and interpretations that are issued, but not yet effective, up to the date of issuance of the Group’s financial statements are disclosed below.
IAS 21 ("The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates") amendment on lack of exchangeability
On 15 August 2023, the IASB issued ‘The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates: Lack of Exchangeability (Amendment to IAS 21)' that adds requirements for determining whether a currency can be exchanged for another currency (exchangeability) and defining how to determine the spot exchange rate to be used when it is not possible to exchange a currency for a long period of time. This change also requires the disclosure of information that allows understanding how the currency that cannot be exchanged for another currency affects, or is expected to affect, the financial performance, financial position and cash flows of the entity, in addition to the spot exchange rate used on the reporting date and how it was determined. The amendment is effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2025.
The group does not expect a material impact upon adoption of this amendment.
Amendments IFRS 9 ("Financial Instruments") and IFRS 7 ("Financial Instruments: Disclosures") regarding the classification and measurement of financial instruments
On 30 May 2024, the IASB issued ‘Amendments to the Classification and Measurement of Financial Instruments (Amendments to IFRS 9 and IFRS 7)'. These amendments intend to: i) clarify the date of recognition and derecognition of some financial assets and liabilities, with a new exception for some financial liabilities settled through an electronic cash transfer system; ii) clarify and add further guidance for assessing whether a financial asset meets the solely payments of principal and interest (SPPI) criterion; iii) add new disclosure requirements for instruments with contractual conditions that can change cash flows, like those linked to ESG targets; and iv) update the disclosure requirements for equity instruments designated at fair value through other comprehensive income, separating the fair value reserve into the fair value gains or losses of the investments derecognised and those held at the end of the period. These amendments apply at the date they become effective without restating the comparatives. The amendments are effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
The group does not expect a material impact upon adoption of these amendments.
Amendments IFRS 9 ("Financial Instruments") and IFRS 7 ("Financial Instruments: Disclosures") regarding the contracts referencing nature-dependent electricity
On 18 December 2024, the IASB issued ‘Contracts referencing nature-dependent electricity (Amendments to IFRS 9 and IFRS 7)'. These amendments intend to improve the report of the financial effects of nature-dependent electricity contracts, subject to variability of quantity generated because it is dependent of uncontrollable natural conditions. These amendments intend to: i) clarify the application of the “own use” exemption requirements of IFRS 9; ii) allow the application of hedge accounting when nature dependent electricity purchase contracts are designated as hedging instrument; and iii) add new disclosure requirements to IFRS 7 to better understand the impact of these contracts on entity’s the financial performance and cash flows. This amendment shall be applied retrospectively without restating prior periods, except for hedging designation, which shall be applied prospectively. The amendments are effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
The group does not expect a material impact upon adoption of these amendments.
On 18 July 2024, the IASB issued ‘Annual Improvements to IFRS Accounting Standards — Volume 11'. The annual improvements intend to clarify application issues or correct inconsistencies in standards. This volume of improvements affects the following accounting standards: IFRS 1, IFRS 7, IFRS 9, IFRS 10 e IAS 7. The amendments are effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
The group does not expect a material impact upon adoption of these improvements.
IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosures in Financial Statements
On 9 April 2024, the IASB issued ‘IFRS 18 - Presentation and Disclosures in Financial Statements'. This new standard will replace the current IAS 1. While retaining many of the existing principles of IAS 1, it is focused on the specification of a structure for the statement of profit or loss, composed of categories and required subtotals. Items in the statement of profit or loss will be classified into one of three categories: operating, investing, financing. Specified subtotals and totals will be required being the main change the mandatory inclusion of the subtotal “Operating profit or loss”. This standard also includes improvements to the disclosure of management performance measures including the reconciliation with the most similar specified subtotal in IFRS Accounting standards. This standard also enhances guidance on the principles of aggregation and disaggregation of information in the financial statements and respective notes, based on their shared characteristics. This standard applies retrospectively. The standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2027.
The group is analyzing the potential impacts of adoption of this standard in the presentation of financial statements (in particular comprehensive income statement), and disclosures of management performance measures.
IFRS 19 Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures
On 9 May 2024, the IASB issued ‘IFRS 19 Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures'. IFRS 19 is a voluntary standard which allows “Eligible” subsidiaries to use IFRS Accounting Standards with reduced disclosure requirements. IFRS 19 is a disclosure-only standard and works alongside other IFRS Accounting Standards for recognition, measurement, and presentation requirements. A subsidiary is “Eligible” if (i) it does not have public accountability; and (ii) has a parent that prepares consolidated financial statements available for public use that comply with IFRS Accounting Standards. IFRS 19 can be applied by “Eligible” subsidiaries when preparing their own consolidated, separate or individual financial statements. Complete comparative information needs to be prepared under IFRS 19 unless any exemption applies. The standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2027.
The group will not have a material impact upon adoption of this standard.
5 Group Information
At December 31, 2024, Jumia consolidated the Parent entity (Jumia Technologies AG) and the following subsidiaries:
Company name
Country of incorporation
% control
Principal activities(1)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2024
Africa Internet General Trading LLC
UAE
100.00
100.00
Services
Africa Internet Services SAS
FRANCE
100.00
100.00
Not active
AIH General Merchandise Algeria UG (haftungsbeschränkt) & Co. KG
GERMANY
100.00
100.00
Holding
AIH General Merchandise Cameroon UG (haftungsbeschränkt) & Co. KG
GERMANY
100.00
100.00
Holding
AIH General Merchandise Egypt UG (haftungsbeschränkt) & Co. KG
GERMANY
100.00
100.00
Holding
AIH General Merchandise Ivory Coast UG (haftungsbeschränkt) & Co. KG
GERMANY
100.00
100.00
Holding
AIH General Merchandise Kenya UG (haftungsbeschränkt) & Co. KG
Juwel 193 V V UG (haftungsbeschränkt) & Co. Zwölfte Verwaltungs KG
GERMANY
100.00
100.00
Holding
Juwel 193. V V UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
GERMANY
100.00
100.00
General Partner
Juwel 193. V V UG (haftungsbeschränkt) & Co. 132. Verwaltungs KG
GERMANY
100.00
100.00
Holding
Juwel 193. V V UG (haftungsbeschränkt) & Co. 23. Verwaltungs KG
GERMANY
100.00
100.00
Holding
Juwel 193. V V UG (haftungsbeschränkt) & Co. 24. Verwaltungs KG
GERMANY
100.00
100.00
Holding
Juwel 193. V V UG (haftungsbeschränkt) & Co. Fünfte Verwaltungs KG
GERMANY
100.00
100.00
Holding
Juwel 193. V V UG (haftungsbeschränkt) & Co. Vierte Verwaltungs KG
GERMANY
100.00
100.00
Holding
Juwel 194. V V UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
GERMANY
100.00
100.00
General Partner
Juwel 194. V V UG (haftungsbeschränkt) & Co. Erste Verwaltungs KG
GERMANY
100.00
100.00
Holding
Juwel E-Services Tanzania Ltd.
TANZANIA
100.00
100.00
Not active
Lendico S.A (PTY) Ltd.
SOUTH AFRICA
100.00
0.00
—
Lipco Internet Services Zimbabwe Ltd.
ZIMBABWE
100.00
100.00
Not active
Silveroak Internet Services Portugal, Unipessoal Lda
PORTUGAL
100.00
100.00
Services
Vamido Global Resources Ltd.
NIGERIA
99.89
99.89
Not active
_________________________
(1)Principal activities as of December 31, 2024
The only changes in scope during 2024 resulted from the liquidation of Lendico S.A (PTY) Ltd. and Atol Ivory Coast SARL.
In late 2024, the Group decided to exit two geographies, Tunisia and South Africa, impacting two entities – Jade E-Services South Africa Proprietary Ltd. and Jumia E-services SARL. These operations do not represent a major line of business or a geographical area, nor are they a significant part of the group operations and hence, are not separately disclosed as discontinued operations and assets held for sale.
6 Discontinued Operations
From 2012 to 2023, the Group operated a food delivery business called Jumia Food in most of its markets. Following a strategic review of our business, the Group determined that the food delivery business is not suitable to the
current operating environment and macroeconomic conditions, and closed the food delivery business in all markets by the end of December 2023.
As required by IFRS 5, changes have been made to the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the year ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 to reflect in a single line item (Loss after Income tax for the period from discontinued operations).
The Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) for discontinued operations for the year ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 are as follows:
For the years ended December 31,
In thousands of USD
2022
2023
2024
Revenue
18,582
14,632
—
Expenses
(43,710)
(19,549)
—
Loss before Income tax from discontinued operations
(25,128)
(4,917)
—
Loss after Income tax for the period from discontinued operations
(25,128)
(4,917)
—
The impacts in Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows from discontinued operations for the year ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 are as follows:
For the years ended December 31,
In thousands of USD
2022
2023
2024
Net cash flows used in operating activities
(24,147)
(6,729)
—
Net cash flows (used in) / from investing activities
(227)
47
—
7 Change in accounting policy
The prior year disclosure of “Revenue” has been reclassified to reflect the impact of the accounting policy change for the revenue streams presented as "Commissions", “Fulfillment” and “Value-added services” in prior periods that are being presented together under “Third-party sales” starting from the current period. The Group considers that these revenue streams correspond to the same performance obligation and believes this presentation provides more relevant information for the users of the financial statements.
The change in accounting policy does not affect the previously reported loss or equity of the Group.
The impacts in the “Revenue” disclosure, of the change in accounting policy, are summarized as follows:
Set out below, are the carrying amounts of the Group’s right-of-use assets and lease liabilities and the movements during the period:
In thousands of USD
Right of use assets
Lease Liabilities
As of January 1, 2023
14,605
13,847
Additions
1,030
1,057
Depreciation
(5,204)
—
Interest expense
—
1,074
Lease modifications
(1,959)
(2,046)
Payments
—
(6,279)
Effect of translation
(2,218)
(1,578)
As of January 1, 2024
6,254
6,075
Additions
11,274
10,158
Depreciation
(4,887)
—
Impairment
(59)
—
Interest expense
—
1,532
Lease modifications
(539)
(628)
Effect of hyperinflationary economies
60
—
Payments
—
(5,123)
Effect of translation
(1,037)
(816)
As of December 31, 2024
11,066
11,198
During 2024, the Group’s main additions on Right of use assets include new lease contracts for new warehouse facilities in Nigeria, Egypt and Ghana. Lease modifications are mainly driven by the early termination of warehouse contracts in Egypt, Tunisia, Ivory Coast and Nigeria, and due to delays in the constructions in the main warehouse in Ivory Coast. These effects are partially offset by the renewal of the main warehouse in Uganda.
During 2023, the Group’s main additions on Right of use assets include new lease contracts for a new warehouse facility in Nigeria. Lease modifications are mainly driven by the early termination of office contracts in Portugal and Egypt and warehouse contracts in Egypt, Algeria and Uganda. These effects are partially offset by the renewal of warehouse contracts in Ivory Coast and Tunisia.
The Group recognized rent expense from short-term leases of USD 1,265 thousand in the year ended December 31, 2024 (2023: USD 2,035 thousand and 2022: USD 2,708 thousand).
The following are the amounts recognized in profit or loss:
In thousands of USD
2022
2023
2024
Depreciation expense of right-of-use assets
(6,480)
(5,204)
(4,887)
Interest expense on lease liabilities
(1,710)
(1,074)
(1,532)
Expense relating to short-term leases
(2,708)
(2,035)
(1,265)
Total amount recognized in profit or loss
(10,898)
(8,313)
(7,684)
The Group had total cash outflows for leases of USD 5,123 thousand in 2024 (2023: USD 6,279 thousand and 2022: USD 8,666 thousand). The Group also had non-cash additions to right-of-use assets and lease liabilities of USD 11,274 thousand and USD 10,158 thousand in 2024, respectively (2023: USD 1,030 thousand and USD 1,057 thousand, respectively and 2022: USD 10,391 thousand and USD 10,160 thousand, respectively).
The Group records the tax effect resulting from temporary differences between the assets and liabilities determined on an accounting basis and on a tax basis. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, on a consolidated basis, the movement by nature of Net Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities are as follows:
As of December 31,
In thousands of USD
2023
Profit / (Loss)
OCI Gain / (Loss)
Effect of translation
2024
Financial assets measured at fair value through OCI
2,058
—
(1,114)
—
944
Tax losses
7,464
(3,064)
—
(2,515)
1,885
Tax benefits
497
(199)
—
—
298
Leases
1,407
538
—
—
1,945
Deferred tax assets offset
(10,895)
3,631
—
2,515
(4,749)
Total Deferred tax assets
531
906
(1,114)
—
323
As of December 31,
In thousands of USD
2023
Profit / (Loss)
OCI Gain / (Loss)
Effect of translation
2024
Assets depreciation and amortization
(421)
148
—
—
(273)
Unrealized foreign exchange gains - P&L
(8,854)
4,234
—
2,479
(2,141)
Leases
(1,684)
(1,100)
—
—
(2,784)
Others
(140)
49
—
—
(91)
Deferred tax liabilities offset
10,895
(3,631)
—
(2,515)
4,749
Total Deferred tax liabilities
(204)
(300)
—
(36)
(540)
As of December 31,
In thousands of USD
2022
Profit / (Loss)
OCI Gain / (Loss)
Effect of translation
2023
Financial assets measured at fair value through OCI
4,124
—
(2,066)
—
2,058
Financial assets measured at fair value through PL
973
(973)
—
—
—
Tax losses
9,862
1,588
—
(3,986)
7,464
Tax benefits
699
(201)
—
(1)
497
Leases
3,302
(1,895)
—
—
1,407
Deferred tax assets offset
(18,250)
3,382
—
3,973
(10,895)
Total Deferred tax assets
710
1,901
(2,066)
(14)
531
As of December 31,
In thousands of USD
2022
Profit / (Loss)
OCI Gain / (Loss)
Effect of translation
2023
Assets depreciation and amortization
(987)
566
—
—
(421)
Unrealized foreign exchange gains - P&L
(13,876)
1,036
—
3,986
(8,854)
Leases
(3,851)
2,167
—
—
(1,684)
Others
(435)
295
—
—
(140)
Deferred tax liabilities offset
18,250
(3,382)
—
(3,973)
10,895
Total Deferred tax liabilities
(899)
682
—
13
(204)
As mentioned on the accounting policies, Note 2 t), the offset between deferred tax assets and liabilities is performed at each subsidiary level.
Deferred tax liability for foreign currency exchange on net investment amounting to USD 7,696 thousand (2023: USD 491 thousand) was not recognized as the Group is able to control the timing of the reversal of the temporary difference and it is probable that the temporary difference will not reverse in the foreseeable future.
10 Other non-current assets
As of December 31, 2024, other non-current assets were comprised of rent, trade, and other term deposits amounting to USD 1,373 thousand (2023: USD 1,245 thousand), restricted from being exchanged or used to settle a liability for at least twelve months after the reporting period, and other non-current assets amounting to USD 35 thousand as of December 31, 2024 (2023: USD 44 thousand).
11 Inventories
Inventories are comprised of the following:
As of December 31,
In thousands of USD
2023
2024
Merchandise available for sale
10,868
7,283
Less: Provision for slow moving and obsolete inventories
(1,169)
(851)
Total Inventories
9,699
6,432
The total cost of inventory, which consists primarily of the purchase price of customer products, recognized as an expense in the consolidated profit or loss was USD 66,538 thousand (2023: USD 75,657 thousand and 2022: USD 77,927 thousand). The total cost of revenue amounted to USD 67,958 thousand (2023: USD 79,298 thousand and 2022: USD 85,127 thousand) and consists primarily of the cost of inventory.
The amount of write-down of inventories recognized in the consolidated profit or loss was USD 331 thousand (2023: USD 414 thousand and 2022: USD 2,221 thousand). The amount of reversal of write-down recognized as reduction in the amount of inventories recognized as an expense in the consolidated profit or loss was USD 134 thousand (2023: USD 199 thousand and 2022: USD 274 thousand). The reversal of write-down primarily arises from our ability to increase the net realizable value of certain inventory items through price increases, driving higher margins.
12 Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents are comprised of the following:
As of December 31,
In thousands of USD
2023
2024
Cash at bank and in hand
29,367
54,067
Short-term deposits
6,116
1,293
Total Cash and cash equivalents
35,483
55,360
Cash at banks earns interest at floating rates based on daily bank deposit rates. Short-term deposits are made for varying periods, depending on the immediate cash requirements of the Group, and earn interest at the respective short-term deposit rates.
The Group has no restricted cash on cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2024 (2023: nil).
While cash and cash equivalents are also subject to the impairment requirements of IFRS 9, the identified expected credit loss was immaterial, due to low credit risk of the financial institutions.
Term deposits and other financial assets are comprised of the following:
As of December 31,
In thousands of USD
2023
2024
Financial assets at fair value through OCI
84,023
47,627
Short term and other deposits
1,065
30,958
Term Deposits and other financial assets
85,088
78,585
Short term and other deposits represent rent and interest bearing deposits with a commercial bank for a fixed period of more than 3 months.
In 2024, short term deposits includes the placement of a USD 30,000 thousand bank deposit, in Germany, with a maturity of 6 months.
Financial assets measured at fair value through other comprehensive income comprise investments in listed investment grade bonds, via a discretionary account managed by Citi Private Bank, with the objective of maintaining capital and obtaining benchmark yields. The Group holds these investments under a “hold to collect and sell” business model as defined under IFRS 9. Interest income from financial assets at fair value through OCI are disclosed in Note 29. The reduction in the amount of the assets occurred throughout 2024, is explained by the sale of listed investment grade bonds and the fluctuations in their fair value.
Other financial assets are presented as current whenever maturity of the investments is within 12 months of the reporting date or if management expects to sell the asset within 12 months.
Fair value reserve
The movement in the fair value reserve for financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income (“FVOCI”), including the allowance for expected credit losses (“ECL”), is as follows:
In thousands of USD
OCI on financial assets at fair value
Balance as of December 31, 2022
(9,613)
Changes in fair value of financial assets
1,970
Deferred tax assets on fair value loss through other comprehensive income
(2,066)
Reclassification from fair value reserve to profit or loss of the period due to maturity or sale of financial assets
3,908
Changes in allowance for expected credit losses - reversal
(19)
Changes recognized in other comprehensive income of the period (Note 17)
3,793
Balance as of December 31, 2023
(5,820)
Changes in fair value of financial assets
1,441
Deferred tax assets on fair value loss through other comprehensive income
(1,114)
Reclassification from fair value reserve to profit or loss of the period due to maturity or sale of financial assets
3,427
Changes in allowance for expected credit losses - reversal
(17)
Changes recognized in other comprehensive income of the period (Note 17)
The movement of allowance for expected credit losses (“ECL”) of other financial assets measured at fair value through other comprehensive income is as follows:
In thousands of USD
ECL of other financial assets
Balance as of December 31, 2022
53
Changes recognized in profit or loss as net impairment gains/losses on financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income
(19)
Total changes in allowance for expected credit losses
(19)
Balance as of December 31, 2023
34
Changes recognized in profit or loss as net impairment gains/losses on financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income
(17)
Total changes in allowance for expected credit losses
(17)
Balance as of December 31, 2024
17
14 Trade and other receivables
Trade and other receivables are comprised of the following:
As of December 31,
In thousands of USD
2023
2024
Advances to suppliers
2,667
3,323
Trade notes and accounts receivable
16,357
12,576
Unbilled revenues
6,786
1,237
Other receivables
2,448
1,574
28,258
18,710
Less: Allowance for expected credit loss
(5,101)
(2,927)
Trade and other receivables
23,157
15,783
Allowance for expected credit losses
The movement of allowance for expected credit losses (“ECL”) of trade and other receivables is as follows:
The aging analysis of trade and other receivables is as follows:
Past due but not impaired
In thousands of USD
Total net
Total gross
Total expected credit losses
Current
< 30 days
30 - 90 days
>90 days
As of December 31, 2023
23,157
28,258
(5,101)
18,602
2,423
166
1,966
As of December 31, 2024
15,782
18,709
(2,927)
7,355
4,354
2,156
1,917
See Note 34 for disclosure of how the Group manages and measures credit quality of trade and other receivables that are neither past due nor impaired.
15 Prepaid expenses
As of December 31, 2024, prepaid expenses were comprised of prepaid server hosting fees and software licenses of USD 3,745 thousand (2023: USD 5,155 thousand), prepaid rent of USD 330 thousand (2023: USD 2,550 thousand), prepaid insurance of USD 1,252 thousand (2023: USD 1,064 thousand) and advance payments to the Group’s partners for online payment services amounting to USD 226 thousand (2023: USD 364 thousand). The remaining amount of USD 350 thousand (2023: USD 337 thousand) relates to other goods and services, namely travel and entertainment and professional fees.
16 Share capital and share premium
Ordinary shares issued and fully paid as of December 31, 2024
Number of shares
Class
Par value (EUR)
Share capital (in thousands of USD)
Share premium (in thousands of USD)
Total
244,925,650
Ordinary
1
283,093
1,792,181
2,075,274
Total
1
283,093
1,792,181
2,075,274
The total issued number of ordinary shares is 244,925,650 shares as of December 31, 2024 with a par value of EUR 1.00 per share. All issued ordinary shares are fully paid. Each ordinary share carries one vote.
During 2024, 2,192,812 shares were issued, all fully paid, relating to the settlement of different equity programs of the company. Related transaction costs of USD 92 thousand are recognized directly in the accumulated losses. Furthermore, during August 2024, we completed an equity offering for which 40,455,472 shares were issued, all fully paid. Proceeds from the offering, net of commissions and expenses, were USD 94.7 million. Transaction costs of USD 4,983 thousand related to the offering are recognized directly in the accumulated losses.
Ordinary shares issued and fully paid as of December 31, 2023
Number of shares
Class
Par value (EUR)
Share capital (in thousands of USD)
Share premium (in thousands of USD)
Total
202,277,366
Ordinary
1
236,800
1,736,469
1,973,269
Total
1
236,800
1,736,469
1,973,269
The total issued number of ordinary shares is 202,277,366 shares as of December 31, 2023 with a par value of EUR 1.00 per share. All issued ordinary shares are fully paid. Each ordinary share carries one vote.
During 2023, 1,044,806 shares were issued, all fully paid, relating to the settlement of different equity programs of the company. Related transaction costs of USD 24 thousand are recognized directly in the accumulated losses.
Ordinary shares issued and fully paid as of December 31, 2022
Number of shares
Class
Par value (EUR)
Share capital (in thousands of USD)
Share premium (in thousands of USD)
Total
201,232,560
Ordinary
1
235,659
1,736,469
1,972,128
Total
1
235,659
1,736,469
1,972,128
The total issued number of ordinary shares is 201,232,560 shares as of December 31, 2022 with a par value of EUR 1.00 per share. All issued ordinary shares are fully paid. Each ordinary share carries one vote.
During 2022, 1,478,438 shares were issued, all fully paid, relating to the settlement of different equity programs of the company. Related transaction costs of USD 91 thousand are recognized directly in the accumulated losses.
17 Other Reserves
In thousands of USD
Share-based payment capital reserves
Exchange difference on net investment in foreign operations
Fair value reserve of financial assets at FVOCI
Currency translation adjustment
Total other reserves
As of January 01, 2022
176,289
(165,456)
(3,941)
157,783
164,675
Other comprehensive loss
—
(182,489)
(5,672)
178,903
(9,258)
Total comprehensive loss for the period
—
(182,489)
(5,672)
178,903
(9,258)
Share-based compensation
9,237
—
—
—
9,237
Exercise of options
(1,480)
—
—
—
(1,480)
As of December 31, 2022
184,046
(347,945)
(9,613)
336,686
163,174
Hyperinflation effect in comprehensive income
—
290
—
—
290
Other comprehensive (loss) / income
—
(229,078)
3,793
218,347
(6,938)
Total comprehensive (loss) / income for the period
—
(228,788)
3,793
218,347
(6,648)
Share-based compensation
5,344
—
—
—
5,344
Exercise of options
(1,141)
—
—
—
(1,141)
As of December 31, 2023
188,249
(576,733)
(5,820)
555,033
160,729
Hyperinflation effect in comprehensive income
—
(17)
—
(13)
(30)
Other comprehensive (loss) / income
—
(207,325)
3,737
219,534
15,946
Total comprehensive (loss) / income for the period
—
(207,342)
3,737
219,521
15,916
Share-based compensation
6,160
—
—
—
6,160
Exercise of options
(2,363)
—
—
—
(2,363)
As of December 31, 2024
192,046
(784,075)
(2,083)
774,554
180,442
The share-based compensation reserve represents the Group’s cumulative equity settled share option expense.
The exchange difference on net investment in foreign operations represents the cumulative amount of the exchange differences related to foreign operations that are consolidated.
The fair value reserve of financial assets at FVOCI represents the fair value changes on financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income.
The Currency translation adjustment reserve represents the cumulative exchange differences on the translation of the Group’s overseas subsidiaries into the Group’s presentation currency.
As of December 31, 2024, all options granted under the JSOP 2016 have vested.
Jumia Technologies AG is authorized to opt to make payments in cash or settle in equity at the time of settlement of the awards. In some cases, the company is aware of restrictions, that generally relate to country-specific limitations on individual investment in foreign assets, that may require it to settle awards in cash. For the beneficiaries impacted by these restrictions, the Company’s intention is to cash settle all outstanding awards in the future and they are recognized as cash-settled. The remaining awards are recognized as equity-settled as there is no constructive obligation to settle in cash as the past practice has always been to settle in equity and there is no valid expectation that the awards would be settled in cash.
All outstanding options of JSOP 2016 have been exercised or expired in 2023.
Equity Programs 2019
Stock Option Program 2019
In 2019, Jumia Technologies AG established a new stock option plan, the SOP 2019, under which stock options were granted to beneficiaries. On May 15, 2020 additional stock options were granted under the SOP 2019.
Each stock option entitles the holder to receive one share of Jumia Technologies AG upon exercise and payment of an exercise price of EUR 1.00 per share. The stock options may be exercised after a waiting period of four years from the grant date and expire following seven years after the end of the waiting period. The exercise of stock options is not possible during defined blackout periods. Jumia may, at its sole discretion, settle vested stock options in cash instead of issuing shares in Jumia Technologies AG.
The stock options can only be exercised, if the average annual growth rate of the Gross Merchandise Value amounts to at least 10% during the four-year waiting period. If this target is not met, all options will lapse. This condition is classified under IFRS 2 as a non-market performance condition. The probability of achievement of the performance target is based on the most likely outcome derived from a Monte Carlo valuation model and it has to be reassessed at each reporting date. Only for certain grants in 2020 this condition has been classified as a non-vesting condition, as the vesting period is shorter than the performance period. In this case, the probability of achievement has been derived from a Monte Carlo valuation model at the grant date, is reflected in the fair value and is not reassessed subsequently.
Moreover, the stock options are subject to vesting requirements. The stock options shall generally vest in one or more tranches. The SOP 2019 plan sets out several criteria of bad leaver and good leaver cases. For beneficiaries, who are members of the management board, the total vesting period shall be at least four years and all unexercised options will be forfeited, if the employee resigns and start working for a competitor within six months after resignation. If other beneficiaries (i.e. not members of the management board) resign before the vesting date as specified in the individual grant agreements and are classified as good leaver, all vested stock options will be retained.
However, all unexercised stock options will be forfeited, if a beneficiary terminates the employment within four years after the IPO on April 12, 2019. This period has passed.
The stock options granted in 2020 will vest either 3 or 4 years after the IPO according to the individual grant agreements.
If Jumia Technologies AG pays dividends during the waiting period or exercise period, the beneficiaries are entitled to receive a dividend payment for each vested but not yet exercised stock option. However, Jumia Technologies AG does not expect to pay dividends during the next years.
Jumia Technologies AG is entitled, at its sole discretion, to settle any claims under the SOP 2019 either in cash or in equity. As specified above, for JSOP 2016, the SOP 2019 was recognized as a cash-settled plan for certain beneficiaries and as an equity-settled plan for all other beneficiaries.
As of December 31, 2024, all awards granted under this plan have vested. The awards were subject to a non-vesting condition. The condition was not met. Therefore, the options lapsed and cannot be exercised.
Equity Programs 2020
Stock Option Program 2020
In 2020, with the approval of the annual general meeting of shareholders, Jumia Technologies AG established a new stock option plan, the SOP 2020, under which Jumia granted an individual number of stock options to beneficiaries under the terms and conditions of the SOP 2020.
Each stock option entitles the holder to receive one share in Jumia Technologies AG (or 0.5 American Depositary Shares (ADS) as 1 ADS represents 2 shares of Jumia). The option can be exercised after a waiting period of four years at a price which is determined based on the average share price of the last 60 trading days prior to the contract date of the individual grant agreements. The exercise period starts directly after the waiting period and ends two years following the expiry of the waiting period. The exercise of stock options is prohibited during defined blackout periods. Jumia may, at its sole discretion, settle each vested stock option in cash instead of issuing a share in Jumia Technologies AG.
The stock options can only be exercised, if the average annual growth rate of the Gross Merchandise Value amounts to at least 10% during the four years waiting period. If this performance target is not met, all options will lapse. For specific grants under the 2020 Plan this condition is classified under IFRS 2 as a non-market performance condition. The probability of achievement of the performance target is based on the most likely outcome derived from a Monte Carlo valuation model and it has to be reassessed at each reporting date. For all other grants this condition has been classified as a non-vesting condition. In this case, the probability of achievement has been derived from a Monte Carlo valuation model at the grant date, is reflected in the fair value and is not reassessed subsequently.
Moreover, there are stock options granted to certain beneficiaries with an additional criteria which relates to reaching certain profitability targets. This second condition is as well either classified as a non-market performance condition or as a non-vesting condition depending on the vesting period of the grants and the respective period in which the condition has to be met.
The stock options are subject to vesting requirements.
The stock options shall generally vest in two tranches. Two-thirds of the granted stock options vest after two years from the grant date. The remaining one-third of the granted stock options vest after three years from the grant date.
Beneficiaries who are members of the management board will forfeit the right to exercise their options if they resign and start working for a competitor within six months after resignation.
Other beneficiaries will keep all vested stock options.
If Jumia pays dividends during the waiting period or exercise period, the beneficiaries are entitled to receive a dividend payment for each vested but not yet exercised stock option. However, Jumia does not expect to pay dividends during the next years.
Jumia Technologies AG is entitled, at its sole discretion, to settle any claims under the SOP 2020 either in cash or in equity. As specified above, for JSOP 2016 and others, the SOP 2020 was recognized as a cash-settled plan for certain beneficiaries and as an equity-settled plan for all other beneficiaries.
As of December 31, 2024, all the awards granted under this plan have vested. The awards were subject to a non-vesting condition. The condition was not met. Therefore, the options lapsed and cannot be exercised.
Virtual Restricted Stock Unit Program 2020
The 2020 annual general meeting of shareholders also approved the Virtual Restricted Stock Unit Program 2020 (VRSUP 2020). Jumia granted an individual number of restricted stock units (RSU) to beneficiaries under the terms and conditions of the VRSUP 2020.
Each beneficiary received an individual grant agreement that includes the individual number of RSUs. Each RSU entitles the holder to receive a cash payment equal to the ten trading days average share price after the publication by the Company of the later of its last half year report or its last annual financial statements.
In general, the RSUs shall vest one year after the grant and will be paid out as soon as reasonably practicable following the expiration of a period of twelve trading days after the publication of Jumia’s first half year report or annual financial statements after the vesting date.
No RSUs are subject to any performance conditions or a maximum payout amount (cap).
Jumia Technologies AG is entitled, at its sole discretion, to settle any claims under the VRSUP 2020 either in cash or in equity. As specified above, for JSOP 2016, the VSRUP 2020 was recognized as a cash-settled plan for certain beneficiaries and as an equity-settled plan for all other beneficiaries.
All RSUs granted under VRSUP 2020 have vested, as of December 31, 2024.
Equity Programs 2021
Stock Option Program 2021
By resolution of the Company’s General Meeting, dated June 9, 2021, the Stock Option Program 2021 (SOP 2021) was approved. Jumia granted a specific number of stock options to beneficiaries under the terms and conditions of the SOP 2021.
Each stock option entitles the holder to receive one share of Jumia (or 0.5 ADS as 1 ADS represents 2 shares of Jumia). The option can be exercised after a four-year waiting period, commencing on the grant date, at a price which is determined based on the average share price of the last 30 trading days prior to the grant date. The exercise period starts directly after the waiting period and ends two years following the expiration of the waiting period. The exercise of stock options is prohibited during defined black-out periods. Jumia is entitled to elect, at its sole discretion, a cash payment for each vested stock option instead of issuing one share.
The stock options are subject to vesting requirements. The awards are (i) divided in tranches of options vesting upon defined years of service and (ii) can only be exercised if a non-market performance condition, related to reaching a certain growth target of the Gross Merchandise Value during a defined period, is met. The probability of achievement of this performance target is based on the most likely outcome derived from a Monte Carlo valuation model and it has to be reassessed at each reporting date.
Beneficiaries who are members of the management board will forfeit the right to exercise their options if they resign (before the term of office) and start working for a competitor within the six months following the resignation.
Other beneficiaries will keep all stock options that are vested.
If Jumia pays dividends during the waiting period or exercise period, the beneficiaries are entitled to receive a dividend payment for each vested but not yet exercised stock option. However, Jumia does not expect to pay dividends during the next years.
As each stock option entitles the holder to receive one share of Jumia, the Fair value per ADS and the exercise price per ADS have to be divided by 2 in order to derive the value per option.
During 2022, the two beneficiaries of SOP2021 unconditionally forfeited the stock options granted to them under the program. SOP2021 and its associated conditional capital were subsequently cancelled without payment of any kind in order to allow the Company in the future to create a new virtual restricted stock unit or other equity incentive program.
Virtual Restricted Stock Unit Program 2021
The 2021 annual general meeting of shareholders also approved the Virtual Restricted Stock Unit Program 2021 (VRSUP 2021). Jumia granted a specific number of virtual restricted stock units (VRSUs) to beneficiaries under the terms and conditions of the VRSUP 2021.
Grants are based on individual grant agreements.
Each beneficiary received an individual grant agreement that includes the specific number of VRSUs. Each VRSU entitles the holder to receive a cash payment equal to the average of the Relevant Closing Price on the first five Trading Days after the publication by the Company of its first press release announcing year-end financial results after the vesting date.
Jumia Technologies AG is entitled, at its sole discretion, to settle any claims under the VRSUP 2021 either in cash or in equity. As specified above, for JSOP 2016 and others, the VSRUP 2021 was recognized as a cash-settled plan for certain beneficiaries and as an equity-settled plan for all other beneficiaries.
The vesting period and conditions may vary according to participants seniority. The awards are divided in tranches which vest upon determined years of service. Moreover, certain awards are subject to additional criteria which includes reaching certain growth target, profitability and share price targets. These conditions are either classified as non-market performance conditions or as non-vesting conditions depending on the vesting period of the grants and the respective period in which the condition has to be met.
In the event the Participant’s office term as member of the Management Board or the Participant’s service or employment relationship with the Company ends before settlement and the Participant qualifies as a “Bad Leaver”, all VRSUs will be forfeited.
If the Participant does not qualify as a “Bad Leaver”, it shall retain all VRSUs already vested and not yet settled.
The fair value per VRSU was derived based on the observable stock price of Jumia on the reporting date or on the grant date depending on the cash- or equity-settled classification. All the cash-settled awards have vested at the reporting date. There are 472,000 unvested equity-settled awards outstanding under this plan and their weighted average fair value at grant date is USD 3.27, as of December 31, 2024
Virtual Restricted Stock Unit Program 2023
The 2023 annual general meeting of shareholders also approved the Virtual Restricted Stock Unit Program 2023 (VRSUP 2023). Jumia granted a specific number of virtual restricted stock units (VRSUs) to beneficiaries under the terms and conditions of the VRSUP 2023.
Grants are based on individual grant agreements.
Each beneficiary received an individual grant agreement that includes the specific number of VRSUs. Each VRSU entitles the holder to receive a cash payment equal to the average of the Relevant Closing Price on the first five Trading Days after the publication by the Company of its first press release announcing year-end financial results after the vesting date.
Jumia Technologies AG is entitled, at its sole discretion, to settle any claims under the VRSUP 2023 either in cash or in equity. As specified above, for JSOP 2016 and others, the VSRUP 2023 was recognized as a cash-settled plan for certain beneficiaries and as an equity-settled plan for all other beneficiaries.
The vesting period and conditions may vary according to participants seniority. The awards are divided in tranches which vest upon determined years of service. Moreover, certain awards are subject to additional criteria which includes reaching certain growth target and profitability targets. These conditions are classified as non-market performance conditions.
In the event the Participant’s office term as member of the Management Board or the Participant’s service or employment relationship with the Company ends before settlement and the Participant qualifies as a “Bad Leaver”, all VRSUs will be forfeited.
If the Participant does not qualify as a “Bad Leaver”, it shall retain all VRSUs already vested and not yet settled.
The fair value per VRSU was derived based on the observable stock price of Jumia on the reporting date or on the grant date depending on the cash- or equity-settled classification. The fair value per cash-settled VRSU amounts to USD $1.91, as of December 31, 2024. There are 3,902,000 unvested equity-settled awards outstanding under this plan and their weighted average fair value at grant date is USD 2.18, as of December 31, 2024.
For certain geographies, equity awards are settled on a net basis, i.e., Jumia Technologies AG withholds shares for settlement of tax obligations plan on behalf of group employees under share-based compensation plans.
Share-Based compensation
For all plans, the Group recognized share-based compensation expense / (reversal) as follows:
Expenses recognized in thousand USD
2022
2023
2024
JSOP 2016
(324)
—
—
SOP 2019
(5,457)
—
—
SOP 2020
(1,022)
(56)
—
SOP 2021
4,190
—
—
VRSUP 2020
1,051
—
—
VRSUP 2021
9,799
5,182
2,365
VRSUP 2023
—
150
4,176
Total share-based compensation expense
8,236
5,276
6,541
19 Trade and other payables
Trade and other payables are comprised of the following:
As of December 31,
In thousands of USD
2023
2024
Trade payables
20,780
15,686
Invoices not yet received
15,246
11,765
Accrued employee benefit costs
9,191
7,778
Share-based compensation - Cash settled payable
206
273
Trade Deposits
730
649
Sundry accruals
9,397
8,156
Trade and Other Payables
55,550
44,307
Current
55,425
44,301
Non-current
125
6
Terms and conditions of the above financial liabilities:
•Trade payables are non-interest bearing and are normally settled on 0-90 day terms
•Other payables are non-interest bearing and have an average term of 1-2 months
•For terms and conditions with related parties, refer to Note 32.
•For explanations on the Group’s financial risk management processes, refer to Note 34.
Sundry accruals relate principally to audit, IT, consulting and marketing.
20 Borrowings
Lease liabilities are presented in the statement of financial position as follows:
As of December 31,
In thousands of USD
2023
2024
Current
3,718
3,938
Non-current
2,357
7,260
Total Lease liabilities
6,075
11,198
Set out below is the maturity of the lease liabilities classified as non-current:
In thousands of USD
One to five years
More than five years
Total
Lease liability future payments
3,391
3,869
7,260
The Group has several lease contracts that include extension and termination options. Whenever the contracts do not include a mutual agreement clause, the Group applies judgement in evaluating whether it is reasonably certain whether or not to exercise the option to renew or terminate the lease. Future cash outflows as of December 31, 2024 to which the Group is potentially exposed that are not reflected in the measurement of lease liabilities amounts to USD 8.0 thousand and relates to new contracts signed in 2025 and potential renewals.
Changes in liabilities arising from financing activities
In thousands of USD
January 1, 2024
Additions and modifications
Payments
Reclassification
Effect of translation
December 31, 2024
Current lease liabilities
3,718
4,976
(5,123)
696
(329)
3,938
Non-current lease liabilities
2,357
6,086
—
(696)
(487)
7,260
Total liabilities from financing activities
6,075
11,062
(5,123)
—
(816)
11,198
In thousands of USD
January 1, 2023
Additions and modifications
Payments
Reclassification
Effect of translation
December 31, 2023
Current lease liabilities
5,138
2,783
(6,279)
2,461
(385)
3,718
Non-current lease liabilities
8,709
(2,698)
—
(2,461)
(1,193)
2,357
Total liabilities from financing activities
13,847
85
(6,279)
—
(1,578)
6,075
Additions and modifications include USD 1,532 thousand of accrued interest as of December 31, 2024 (2023: USD 1,074 thousand) as described in Note 8.
The group has elected not to recognize a lease liability for short term leases (leases of expected term of 12 months or less) or for leases of low value assets. Payments made under such leases are expensed on a straight-line basis. In addition, certain variable lease payments are not permitted to be recognized as lease liabilities and are expensed as incurred.
The expense relating to payments not included in the measurement of the lease liability is as follows:
As of December 31,
In thousands of USD
2023
2024
Short-term leases
2,035
1,265
Variable lease payments
100
90
Total expense
2,135
1,355
At December 31, 2024 the Group was committed to short-term leases and the total commitment at that date was USD 395 thousand (2023: USD 686 thousand).
21 Other taxes receivable & Other taxes payable
Other taxes receivable are comprised of the following:
For the year ended December 31,
In thousands of USD
2023
2024
Value-added taxes
8,785
8,013
Other taxes receivable
79
28
Other taxes receivable
8,864
8,041
Current
4,143
4,227
Non-Current
4,721
3,814
Other taxes payable are comprised of the following:
For the year ended December 31,
In thousands of USD
2023
2024
Value-added taxes
10,106
7,964
Withholding Tax
11,840
7,319
Other taxes payable
1,980
337
Other taxes payable
23,926
15,620
Current
23,452
13,994
Non-Current
474
1,626
Value-added taxes receivable comprises an average maturity of 2.3 years and value-added taxes payable comprises an average maturity of 2.0 years.
Movements in provisions for liabilities and other charges are as follows:
In thousands of USD
Uncertain tax positions
Marketplace and consignment goods
Provision for other expenses
Total
Balance as of January 1, 2023
33,870
663
2,255
36,788
Additions
1,640
207
2,244
4,091
Reversals
(18,627)
(200)
(198)
(19,025)
Use of provision
(1,261)
—
(894)
(2,155)
Effect of translation
(334)
(216)
(215)
(765)
Balance as of December 31, 2023
15,288
454
3,192
18,934
Additions
2,923
65
387
3,375
Reversals
(2,966)
—
(112)
(3,078)
Use of provision
(1,695)
—
(1,728)
(3,423)
Effect of translation
(1,860)
(97)
(320)
(2,277)
Balance as of December 31, 2024
11,690
422
1,419
13,531
Current
11,690
422
781
12,893
Non-current
—
—
638
638
Uncertain tax positions
Uncertain tax positions includes provisions related to VAT for USD 1,506 thousand (2023: USD 3,253 thousand), provisions related to Withholding Tax (WHT) for USD 8,626 thousand (2023: USD 10,758 thousand) and provisions related to other taxes for USD 1,558 thousand (2023: USD 1,277 thousand). Provision is calculated based on the detailed review of uncertain tax positions completed by management across the Group and in consideration of the probability of a liability arising, within the applicable statute of limitations. These provisions are expected to be utilized or released as a result of the regular tax audits in the Countries where the Group operates. When the technical merits of tax filings get clarified and confirmed with the tax authorities, as happened in 2023 and 2024, this reduces the overall uncertainty in the Group's tax positions, resulting in a reversal of provisions.
Marketplace and consignment goods
The provision for marketplace and consignment goods relates to the lost and damaged items, which are to be reimbursed to the sellers. The provision is calculated based on the detailed review of these items, and it is expected that these costs will be incurred in the next financial year.
Provision for other expenses
Provision for other expense includes the end-of-service gratuity and post retirement benefits provision of USD 638 thousand (2023: USD 631 thousand), and various litigation and penalty provisions of USD 781 thousand (2023: USD 2,561 thousand). The provisions are calculated based on our best estimate considering past experience.
23 Deferred income
Deferred income consists of USD 1,101 thousand (2023: USD 390 thousand) related to a depositary fee from BNY Mellon. Our depositary agreement with BNY Mellon contains a compensation for each ADS issued during our primary (IPO) and secondary offerings, deferred over the period of the agreement. In 2024, the Group entered into a new agreement with the depositary that provides us with an ongoing higher revenue share from the collection of fees from ADS holders. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Group received a reimbursement of USD 1.9 million, which is recognized in "Other operating income" over a period of 12 months. Other amounts refer to contract liabilities related to payments received from end customers in advance for goods that have been ordered but are not yet delivered. As of December 31, 2024 contract liabilities amounts to USD 5,979 thousand (2023: USD 2,712 thousand). The total amount of the contract liability, as of the beginning of the period, was recognized as revenue in 2024.
(1)Re-presented for accounting policy change. See Note 7.
The Group's primary sources of revenue are first-party sales and third-party sales.
Revenue decreased by 10.1% from USD 186.4 million in 2023 to USD 167.5 million in 2024, primarily due to currency devaluations and lower first-party corporate sales in Egypt.
No single customer accounted for more than 10% of Group revenues for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022.
The breakdown of the Group’s revenue from contracts with customers by region is disclosed in the Note 2 u) Segments.
25 Fulfillment expense
Fulfillment expense is comprised of the following:
For the year ended December 31,
In thousands of USD
2022
2023
2024
Fulfillment staff costs
20,062
13,293
12,470
Fulfillment centers expense
6,057
2,630
2,225
Freight and shipping expense
50,664
27,961
27,225
Fulfillment expense
76,783
43,884
41,920
Fulfillment expense decreased by 4.5% from USD 43.9 million in 2023 to USD 41.9 million in 2024, mainly driven by the effects of currency devaluation, partially offset by one-time costs associated with warehouse consolidations and the growth in Orders. On a per Order basis, excluding JumiaPay app Orders, which do not incur logistics costs, fulfillment expense decreased from $2.56 to $2.30.
26 Sales and advertising expense
Sales and advertising expense is comprised of the following:
For the year ended December 31,
In thousands of USD
2022
2023
2024
Staff costs
9,916
6,755
5,643
Advertising campaigns
54,123
12,867
9,737
Selling expenses
2,820
1,836
1,908
Sales and advertising expense
66,859
21,458
17,288
Sales and advertising expense decreased by 19.4% from USD 21.5 million in 2023 to USD 17.3 million in 2024, mostly as a result of a reduction in marketing expenditure in 2024 compared to 2023, as the Group continues its efforts to grow orders through supply enhancements rather than increasing marketing expenditure.
Technology and content expense is comprised of the following:
For the year ended December 31,
In thousands of USD
2022
2023
2024
Staff Costs
25,233
17,425
13,434
Technology license and maintenance expenses
27,178
24,103
24,081
Technology and content expense
52,411
41,528
37,515
Technology and content expense decreased by 9.7% from USD 41.5 million in 2023 to USD 37.5 million in 2024, primarily due to savings from reduced staff costs.
28 General and administrative expense and Termination benefits
General and administrative expense
General and administrative expense is comprised of the following:
For the year ended December 31,
In thousands of USD
2022
2023
2024
Staff Costs
60,845
45,147
41,107
Occupancy Costs
2,500
2,099
1,359
Professional fees
11,952
11,278
10,206
Travel and entertainment
3,458
2,172
2,290
Office and related expenses
8,905
6,020
4,576
Bank fees & payment costs
778
650
736
Bad debt expense
6,211
212
989
Tax expense / (reversal)
11,214
(8,018)
(2,921)
Provisions for liabilities and other charges
195
1,745
300
Depreciation and amortization
11,464
9,806
8,160
Other general and administrative expense
4,689
3,314
3,124
General and administrative expense
122,211
74,425
69,926
Staff costs expense includes share options and stock units granted to eligible employees of USD 6,541 thousand (2023: USD 5,276 thousand and 2022: USD 8,240 thousand).
Tax expense / (reversal), refers to tax expense / (reversal) other than income tax and is comprised of the following:
As of December 31,
In thousands of USD
2022
2023
2024
Withholding taxes
4,952
(6,398)
(4,624)
VAT
3,020
(2,999)
(1,446)
Other taxes
3,242
1,378
3,149
Total
11,214
(8,018)
(2,921)
General and administrative expenses for the year includes a tax expense reversal of USD 9.9 million (2023: USD 18.6 million and 2022: USD 2.3 million) primarily resulting from the resolution of tax audits in certain jurisdictions where the Group operates. The resolution of these matters has provided clarity on the tax treatment of intercompany transactions, contributing to reduced tax uncertainty for the Group's operations in the relevant markets. The beneficial impact in tax expenses related to the release of tax provisions is described in Note 22.
As of December 31, 2024 Other general and administrative expense includes USD 3,055 thousand (2023: USD 3,192 thousand and 2022: USD 4,274 thousand) for insurance premiums.
Termination benefits
As of December 31, 2022, termination benefits relate to redundancy expenses amounting to USD 3,706 thousand as a result of an announced and significant action in the fourth quarter of 2022 to streamline the Group's organizational structure and reduce the Group's headcount. Regular termination benefits incurred as part of the recurring operating cycle of the business are recorded by function under Staff costs and amounted to USD 3,127 thousand as of December 31, 2024 (2023: USD 3,076 thousand and 2022: USD 326 thousand).
Finance income and finance costs comprise of the following:
For the year ended December 31,
In thousands of USD
2022
2023
2024
Foreign exchange gain
10,496
1,336
3,229
Interest and similar income
388
1,738
2,304
Interest income from financial assets at fair value through OCI
4,064
2,788
1,212
Fair value gain on financial assets at fair value through profit or loss
—
237
—
Other income
305
90
574
Finance income
15,253
6,189
7,319
Foreign exchange loss
7,492
11,804
16,252
Interest and similar expense
1,718
2,168
2,905
Fair value loss on financial assets at fair value through profit and loss
7,167
13,601
16,163
Loss recognized on disposal of debt instruments held at fair value through OCI (Note 13)
2,290
3,908
3,427
Other charges
951
—
126
Finance costs
19,618
31,481
38,873
In 2022, 2023, and 2024, the company held investments in securities measured at fair value through profit or loss, with the objective of obtaining returns in line with specific market benchmarks. These securities were fully disposed of by the end of 2023, with those held in 2024 also fully disposed of within the period. As a result there was no fair value gain recognized in 2024 (2023: 237 thousand and 2022: nil), and a fair value loss of USD 16,163 thousand was incurred in 2024 (2023: 13,601 thousand and 2022: 7,167 thousand) realized upon disposal. Transaction costs of USD 1,374 thousand (2023: 1,080 thousand and 2022: nil) were recognized under interest and similar expense.
Interest income from financial assets at fair value through OCI includes the interest measured and recognized according to effective interest rate method and amounts to USD 1,212 thousand (2023: 2,788 thousand and 2022: 4,064 thousand).
30 Income tax
Income tax payables and receivables are comprised of the following:
As of December 31,
In thousands of USD
2023
2024
Income Tax Prepayments
2,000
3,041
Total Income tax receivables
2,000
3,041
Income Tax Payables
547
869
Provision for Income Tax
12,880
12,641
Total Income tax payables
13,427
13,510
The Group maintains provisions for uncertain income tax treatments where it is not probable that the tax authorities will accept the Group's tax position under applicable tax laws and regulations. Management assesses these positions assuming full examination by tax authorities and measures the uncertainty using either the most likely amount or the expected value method, depending on which better predicts the resolution of the uncertainty. As described in Note 36, subsequent to year-end, the Group received a Court decision which did not fully resolve the underlying uncertainty of the tax position. Therefore, the Group has maintained the corresponding provision for income tax.
Tax losses available for offsetting against future taxable profits were as follows:
As of December 31,
2022
2023
2024
In thousands of USD
Country
Duration
Rate
Accumulated tax loss [gross]
Accumulated tax loss [gross]
Accumulated tax loss [gross]
Germany **
Indefinite
30.2
%
*
(27,142)
(36,125)
(43,942)
Morocco
4 years
31.0
%
(37,863)
(29,780)
(23,636)
Egypt
5 years
22.5
%
(100,454)
(62,390)
(32,426)
Nigeria
Indefinite
30.0
%
(252,909)
(137,013)
(17,837)
South Africa
Indefinite
28.0
%
(53,251)
(56,532)
(56,638)
Kenya
10 Years
30.0
%
(86,933)
(74,817)
(105,886)
Ivory Coast
5 years
25.0
%
(35,101)
(30,144)
(9,233)
Ghana
3 years
25.0
%
(6,852)
(6,316)
(4,255)
Other
N/A
N/A
(81,040)
(71,163)
(90,791)
Total
(681,545)
(504,280)
(384,644)
_________________________
*
In Germany, the calculation of current tax is based on a combined tax rate of 30.2%, consisting of a corporate income tax rate of 15.8% and a trade tax rate of 14.4%.
**
Accumulated tax losses related to Trade Tax amount to USD 71,057 thousand as of December 31, 2024 (USD 64,942 thousand as of December 31, 2023 and USD 53,474 thousand as of December 31, 2022), not included in the table above.
Various tax rules may limit the use of the tax losses above.
No deferred tax asset has generally been recognized in respect of the tax losses as the latter may either be time barred at the time when they could have otherwise offset taxable profits, may be subject to limitations as to their use, or there is no tax opportunity or other evidence of recoverability within a short timeline. This general principle is subject to a few exceptions disclosed in Note 9. The previously unrecognized tax losses of prior periods used to reduce current tax expense amounts to USD 6,270 thousand.
31 Earnings per share
Basic EPS is calculated by dividing the loss for the year attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the year.
Diluted EPS is calculated by dividing the loss attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent by the weighted average number of ordinary shares and excludes all potential shares outstanding during the year, as their inclusion would be anti-dilutive. The Group potential shares consist of incremental shares issuable upon the assumed exercise of share options and the incremental shares issuable upon the assumed vesting of unvested share awards.
Additional Compensation to the Former Members of the Management Board
In 2022, the former Management Board were also entitled to receive an additional compensation in the amount of USD 1.7 million, following their resignations. This was fully paid in 2023.
See Note 18 for additional information regarding the share-based compensation plans.
33 Fair Values of Financial Instruments
Financial instruments comprise of financial assets and financial liabilities. Financial assets consist of term deposits and other financial assets, cash and cash equivalents and trade and other receivables. Financial liabilities consist of borrowings and trade and other payables.
i.the fair value of financial assets or financial liabilities will change due to movements in the interest rate curve; and,
ii.the cash flows of financial assets or financial liabilities will change due to movements in the interest rate curve.
The Group has invested excess cash in financial instruments such as listed investment grade bonds pursuant to its cash management strategy, as discussed in Note 13. Changes in the interest rate curve will affect the fair value and/or cash flows of the listed investment grade bonds.
In respect of interest rate risk, management monitors the change in interest rates. The Group does not use derivatives as hedging instruments to limit its exposure from interest rate risks.
As of December 31, 2024, the listed investment grade bonds held by the Group are fixed-rate instruments.
Interest rate sensitivity
As of December 31, 2024, if the interest rate curves had changed by +/-50bps, with all other variables held constant, the hypothetical impact on pre-tax equity would have been as follows:
Credit risk is the risk that a counterparty will not meet its obligations under a financial instrument or customer contract, leading to a financial loss. The Group is exposed to credit risk from its operating activities (primarily trade receivables) and from its financing activities, including deposits with banks and financial institutions, financial investments in bonds and foreign exchange transactions (the impacts of which are included in the sensitivity analysis above).
