UPS Expands Logistics Services in Africa Through Partnership With Jumia

UPS entered into a partnership with Jumia giving UPS access to Jumia’s last-mile logistics capabilities and infrastructure to grow its delivery services in Africa.

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Leveraging the Jumia infrastructure in Africa, UPS will offer its customers an extended range of delivery solutions, including door-to-door package delivery and collection, with a variety of payment options.

This partnership will also allow UPS to leverage the extensive network of Jumia drop-off and pick-up stations to expand UPS’s reach and coverage across more towns and cities in Africa.

The collaboration will initially cover Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, with plans for expansion to Ghana and Ivory Coast, and thereafter to the remaining African countries where Jumia operates.

“This partnership will help small and medium-sized businesses in Africa that make up 90 percent of all businesses on the continent and are the backbone of the economy.”

Gregory Goba Ble, Vice President of Engineering and Operations for Indian subcontinent, Middle East and Africa, UPS

“UPS’s asset-light approach, like the Jumia partnership, offers a pathway for businesses to quickly and reliably connect to new customers around the world through our global network, potentially accelerating their revenue growth,” added Goba Ble.

Who is Jumia?

Jumia is a leading eCommerce platform in Africa. Its marketplace is supported through its proprietary logistics business, Jumia Logistics, and its own digital payment and fintech platform, JumiaPay.

The marketplace was launched in 2012 in Nigeria, Morocco, South Africa and Egypt. Jumia introduced the Black Friday sales event to Nigerian shoppers in 2014 and today there are over 6 million products on the marketplace platform available to consumers in 13 African countries.

Jumia Logistics enables the seamless delivery of millions of packages while JumiaPay facilitates online payments and the distribution of a broad range of digital and financial services.

“At the beginning of our journey, 10 years ago, logistics infrastructure was one of the most challenging aspects of our operating environment. This challenge was a catalyst for us to build an unparalleled logistics platform in Africa offering our sellers and consumers reliable, convenient and cost-effective delivery services.”

Apoorva Kumar, Senior Vice President Logistics, Jumia

“Today, we are helping other businesses overcome these infrastructure challenges by giving them access to our logistics platform. We are delighted and humbled by the opportunity to partner up with UPS, a global logistics leader, to offer them last mile solutions in Africa.”

“We view this as a validation of the strength of our logistics platform as well as an incentive to double down on our efforts to further enhance our services and build a world-class logistics business in Africa,” concluded Kumar.

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