Orange has acquired a 75 million-euro equity interest in Africa Internet Group (AIG), the parent company of Jumia Nigeria and other online platforms in Africa.
This sees Orange join AXA, Goldman Sachs, MTN Group, Millicom and Rocket Internet as shareholders of AIG.
Several partnerships will be formed between subsidiaries of Orange and AIG following the development.
Orange is expected to help Jumia and AIG’s other businesses to accelerate their growth and seize development opportunities in Africa.
AIG has grown significantly since it launched Jumia Nigeria in 2012. The firm now has ten online businesses operating in 23 African countries.
These platforms enable over 50,000 local and international companies to do business with African consumers.
Chairman and CEO of Orange, Stéphane Richard, is excited about the investment.
“We are particularly pleased to announce our entry into the capital of Africa Internet Group. With this strategic investment, Orange now has the capacity to play a leading role in the fast-growing e-commerce market in Africa. This acquisition is combined with the signature of several important partnership agreements that will create value for all parties. In particular, across the twelve countries where we have a common presence, this investment will enable us to significantly develop our ability to market products and services developed by Orange Middle East & Africa over the Internet.
Founders and co-CEOs of Jumia and Africa Internet Group, Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara, are also happy about the investment.
“We are thrilled by Orange’s equity investment and are eager to translate our strategic partnership into unique offers for our customers. Jumia and our other online consumer services give millions of African consumers an opportunity to access and transact with local companies in a new and very convenient way. With Orange’s support and expertise, combined with that of our existing long-standing shareholders, we will be able to further improve our service offerings and the customer experience while continuing to invest in our infrastructure”.
