Jumia became the first African tech startup to list on the New York Stock Exchange, and its stock jumped 75 percent on day one. Founded in Lagos in 2012, it sold phones, clothes, and groceries online in countries where roads were rough, addresses vague, and few people had credit cards. Investors called it the Amazon of Africa. Within weeks of its April 2019 debut, a short seller accused it of fraud.

Building Roads for Parcels

Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara started Jumia in Nigeria in 2012 with Nigerian entrepreneurs Tunde Kehinde and Raphael Afaedor, who left in 2015. The company had to build what Western retailers took for granted. It ran its own delivery network, set up pickup points, and let customers pay cash when parcels arrived. It added a payments service, JumiaPay, and food delivery. The bet was that whoever built the rails first would own online shopping across a continent of more than a billion people.

A Short Seller Arrives

Jumia priced its IPO at $14.50 a share in April 2019. The stock opened at $18.95 and closed its first day near $25.46. In May, Citron Research accused Jumia of inflating its numbers. Jumia later found that some sales agents in Nigeria had placed improper orders. By August 2019 the stock had fallen below its IPO price. Jumia pulled out of several countries to cut losses. It still trades on the New York Stock Exchange, far below its $14.50 offer price.

Cover: Camel Caravan Crossing Plane Above Waterfall, Dominic Serres. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a camel caravan (trade across Africa).