Jumia Just Got Its Nigeria Card Revoked!
- techtigerinc
- Mar 16, 2019
- 2 min read
Question: What do Jumia and Rachel Dolezol have in common? Last week, TechCruch announced that Jumia would be listed on the NYSE, amidst much excitement and accolade in the Nigerian and African techsphere. In response to this announcement, Ndubuisi Ekekwe, a professor at Babcock University, Nigeria, has refuted the widely publicised claim that Jumia is Africas first technology company to be listed on the NYSE.
In an article published on tekedia.com, and later posted on LinkedIn, Ekekwe has attempted to clear up facts about the origin and legal status of the company, particularly with respect to its filings at the NYSE. According to Ekekwe, Jumia is actually filing at the NYSE as a German company, not a Nigerian company, so technically, Africa is yet to hit that milestone.
Jumia identifies as being 100% Africa, and has even appointed reigning NBA champion, Golden State Warriors, Andre Iguodala to their board of directors. However, its principle registered office is in Berlin, Germany, its two main Co-founders, Jeremy Hodara and Sachs Poignonnec are not Africans, and its development team work out of a Dubai office.
Announcing the appointment of Iguodala as Jumia's brand ambassador, Co-Founders Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara said, “Finally, having Andre join our board sends the world the message that Africa has successful companies and great entrepreneurs, and that athletes can play a key role in contributing to their success.”
Professor Ekekwe expressed a desire shared by many in the African tech space, to see truly homebred African companies achieving global milestones.
Established in 2012, Jumia now operates in 14 African countries, with Nigeria as the largest market.
Written by: MLQ002
Sources: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumia https://www.tekedia.com/jumia-files-ipo-in-new-york-as-a-german-firm-not-a-lagos-company-not-an-african-unicorn/ https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6511823033139818497 https://businesspost.ng/2019/03/08/jumia-appoints-nba-star-andre-iguodala-to-board/
https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/09/why-warriors-andre-iguodala-joined-african-unicorn-jumias-board-of-directors/
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