Jumia CEOs, Sacha Poignonnec, Jeremy Hodara step down as firm suffers losses

The founders and co-Chief Executive Officers of Jumia Technologies, Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara, have both stepped down from their position with immediate effect.

This is as the Africa-focused e-commerce group is struggling with persistent losses and a slumping share price, Bloomberg reported.

According to a statement on Monday, Francis Dufay, who has held various leadership roles at Jumia since 2014, has been appointed as the acting CEO.

It added that a search for a permanent replacement for the former leaders was underway.

In the statement, the Chairman, Jonathan Klein, said, “We want to bring more focus to the core e-commerce business as part of a more simplified and efficient organization with stronger fundamentals and a clearer path to profitability.”

Poignonnec and Hodara were former colleagues at McKinsey & Co who founded Jumia in 2012 with a plan to introduce online retail and trading of goods to African markets.

The group, which operates out of Lagos, Nigeria, pursued expansion into the likes of food delivery but has yet to make a profit, Bloomberg noted.

Jumia listed in the US in 2019, and the shares have since lost 71% of their value. The stock slumped 13% as of 12:19 p.m. in New York.