African e-commerce giant Jumia has successfully completed a secondary share sale, raising $99.6 million.
The company sold 20,227,736 American depositary shares (ADSs) at an average price of $4.92 per share through an at-the-market transaction offering.
Jumia CEO Francis Dufay stated that the capital will “further strengthen our balance sheet and help us accelerate our growth trajectory as we progress along our path to profitability.” The funds raised will contribute to Jumia’s current cash position of $92.8 million, which includes $45.1 million in cash and cash equivalents, and $47.7 million in term deposits and other financial assets, as reported in its Q2 2024 financial results.
Jumia’s liquidity position has fluctuated, standing at $120.6 million in Q4 2023 and $101.5 million in Q1 2024. The company ended the second quarter of 2024 with 2 million active quarterly customers, representing a 6.0% quarter-over-quarter increase compared to Q1 2024, but remaining flat year-over-year between Q2 2023 and Q2 2024.
Dufay acknowledged that Jumia’s customer base is still relatively small compared to the potential market size in Africa, stating, “We can do much more on the customer base.” Between 2020 and 2021, when capital was abundant in private and public markets, Jumia raised nearly $600 million by selling secondary shares.
The successful completion of this secondary share sale comes after TechCrunch reported Jumia’s plans to sell 20 million ADSs and raise over $100 million, based on the company’s share price of around $5.70 at the time. The sale will provide Jumia with additional resources to accelerate its growth and progress towards profitability in the African e-commerce market.
