In a strategic move to drive e-commerce growth across the African continent, Africa-focused online retail platform Jumia Technologies AG has joined forces with Turkey’s prominent e-commerce giant Hepsiburada. The collaboration will see Hepsiburada introduce a variety of Turkish brands, private-label products, and other retail offerings through Jumia’s expansive platform. The roll-out will begin in Egypt and is scheduled to expand into Morocco by the first quarter of 2025, according to Jumia’s Chief Commercial Officer, Hisham El Gabry.
With this alliance, Hepsiburada will utilise its in-house manufacturing capabilities to deliver competitively priced, quality goods tailored for the African market. “We are starting with Egypt, and then we will expand within the first quarter of 2025 into Morocco,” said El Gabry in an interview. “It will evolve from here.” The Turkish company’s competitive edge lies in its vertical integration, enabling it to maintain lower prices while delivering quality offerings—a key factor for African consumers facing significant economic challenges.
Launched in Nigeria in 2012, Jumia has grown into Africa’s largest e-commerce platform by geographic footprint. Often dubbed the “Amazon of Africa,” Jumia has had to innovate in its logistics to serve a market with notable infrastructural gaps. The company has invested in mapping logistics for its operational areas, developing a network that can support the rapidly growing, smartphone-savvy demographic across the continent. The drive to profitability remains paramount for Jumia, which has also engaged in cost-cutting and streamlined operations to consolidate its position within African markets.
For Hepsiburada, the Jumia collaboration aligns with broader strategic ambitions to extend its global reach and strengthen its presence in emerging markets, even as both companies face challenges in their home and global markets. Hepsiburada CEO Nilhan Onal Gökçetekin commented that the alliance would lay the foundations for further engagement within Africa and offer African consumers a wider variety of products through cross-border trade, an area in which Hepsiburada seeks to grow its footprint.
The partnership also comes as Hepsiburada undergoes major organisational changes. Earlier this month, Kazakhstani tech company Kaspi.kz announced plans to acquire a 65.4% stake in Hepsiburada for $1.3 billion in cash, valuing the e-commerce company at around $1 billion more than its Nasdaq-listed share price at the time of the announcement. Kaspi.kz’s acquisition, if finalised, would bolster Hepsiburada’s resources as it seeks to navigate high inflation, currency volatility, and other economic pressures impacting its home market and other regions of operation.
Since listing in New York in 2019, Jumia’s shares have seen a 65% decline as the company contends with macroeconomic pressures. Similarly, Hepsiburada’s Nasdaq debut in 2021 made it the first Turkish firm to list in the United States, but the stock has since fallen 71%. Both firms continue to operate in markets characterised by high inflation, low average incomes, and currency volatility, which weigh on the performance of companies reliant on consumer spending.
This alliance, however, signals a cautious optimism, leveraging each company’s strengths to capture a larger share of Africa’s growing online retail market. The collaboration, with a focus on providing quality products at accessible prices, may cater effectively to Africa’s tech-literate youth, many of whom are increasingly reliant on e-commerce as mobile infrastructure and digital payments become more widespread across the continent.
