How Jumia Plans to Fight Back as Temu and Shein Take Over African Markets

Can Africa’s first e-commerce unicorn make a comeback?

Africa’s e-commerce pioneer, Jumia, is not taking the invasion of Chinese e-commerce powerhouses Temu and Shein lightly. 

With both companies rapidly winning over African shoppers through ultra-cheap pricing and swift delivery services, Jumia is being forced into a bold reset, one that aims to protect its market share, stabilize its business, and, perhaps most critically, win back the trust of investors.

This plan would come to play through Francis Dufay, Jumia’s CEO since late 2022. Speaking recently in an interview, Dufay acknowledged the rising threat from Chinese platforms but expressed confidence that Jumia has the local understanding and structural edge to fight back.

 “We believe we can fight them,” he said. “We’re more tailored to the market.”

The China playbook: Fighting fire with fire

To counter Temu and Shein’s growing presence, Jumia is not turning its back on China, it’s embracing it. 

The company has quietly built a 70-member team in Shenzhen, China’s export capital, focused entirely on onboarding Chinese sellers. These partnerships are already yielding results: products from Chinese merchants now contribute about one-third of Jumia’s total sales.

But Jumia is not simply importing the same formula that Temu and Shein are using. Instead, it’s blending these global suppliers into a strategy that focuses on local relevance, a diverse product range, competitive pricing, and categories the Chinese giants don’t currently dominate.

Jumia believes its mixed portfolio of international and African sellers, along with its understanding of local shopping habits, can offer an experience that is more in sync with African consumers than the one-size-fits-all approach of Temu and Shein.

Business in repair mode

Beyond competition, Jumia is in a critical rebuilding phase. Since its much-hyped IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in 2019, the company’s market value has plummeted from over $1 billion to just around $400 million. With investors wary and profitability still a dream, Jumia’s credibility has taken a hit.

Dufay is confronting this head-on. “We have to deliver the numbers,” he said. The target? Break even by 2027. And that goal is already shaping the company’s day-to-day decisions.

Jumia has aggressively cut costs, exited underperforming markets, and downsized from operating in 14 countries to just 9. Losses are down from $206 million in 2022 to a projected $50–$55 million in 2025. 

The company has slashed jobs, exited areas where it was bleeding cash, and doubled down on operations that show real promise.

The reality of investor skepticism hit home last month when Baillie Gifford, Jumia’s largest institutional investor, pulled out. But rather than chase hype, Dufay is taking a more measured approach. 

“No big speeches,” he said. “Just results.” His current focus is on quiet persuasion—via roadshows and small investor engagements.

Nigeria – The Big Bet

Among Jumia’s remaining markets, Nigeria stands out as the centerpiece of its growth plan. Dufay described it as offering the “greatest potential in terms of growth and profitability.” 

Despite being Jumia’s largest market by population, its current penetration in Nigeria is still low. The company wants to change that by expanding beyond big cities to reach more low-income, often overlooked customers.

Other key markets like Kenya, Uganda, and Egypt also remain part of the company’s strategic focus.

Challenges ahead

Still, Jumia’s road to recovery won’t be smooth. The company must navigate persistent infrastructure gaps patchy internet, low banking penetration, and fragile logistics. 

Add in currency devaluation and inflation, and you have an e-commerce landscape that’s still full of risk.

But Dufay is betting that a leaner, more grounded Jumia, one that’s not just chasing growth, but building trust and offering value can stand its ground, even as Chinese disruptors shake things up.

In many ways, Jumia is no longer trying to be Africa’s Amazon. It’s now trying to be Africa’s Jumia, a localized, agile, and market-savvy player that learns from past missteps and adapts faster than its foreign challengers.

And if it can back up its strategy with real results, it just might earn its redemption.