Africa’s leading e-commerce platform, Jumia, reduced the number of shipment reversal by 28,000 last year, TechEconomy.ng can report.
This was disclosed today as the company released its first-ever Environmental Social Governance Report outlining its ESG strategy alongside an overview of current sustainability practices at Jumia’s operational bases in 11 countries.
During the period under review, Jumia reduced its fuel consumption per package shipment by 24% as it adopted measures geared towards sustainable ecosystem. For instance, 8,472 refurbished phones were sold on Jumia in 2021 as part of sustainable alternatives to consumers.
Thus, the report draws on Jumia’s 2021 non-financial data and provides disclosures in line with Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) materiality topics for e-commerce entities as well as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
While recognising the importance of standard ESG focus areas, Jumia draws attention to the unique role that e-commerce plays in advancing more equal opportunities in Africa.
As such the company has made its mission, “Leveraging technology to improve everyday lives in Africa,” the first pillar of its sustainability strategy.
The report highlights five material themes in the context of its sustainability strategy:
Environment: Minimizing Impact on Environment
Social: Providing Convenience, Affordability and Accessibility for Consumers; Empowering sellers, partners, and communities and Building an engaged inclusive and diverse workforce.
Governance: Operating with Strong Governance and Ethical Standards
“We are proud that through our actions and our ecosystem we are contributing to social development, generating employment and business opportunities, and closing inequality gaps for thousands of people,” said Jumia Co-Founders and CEOs Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara.
“It is exciting to note that we have endless opportunities to make choices which are good for our business and also good for our people, communities and the planet. As a growing entity on the path to profitability, this alignment between sustainability and our business objectives is a critical success factor,” said Juliet Anammah, Jumia Chief Sustainability Officer and Chairwoman Nigeria.
Jumia ’s ESG Report follows the publication of the company’s year-end financial results highlighted by the fourth quarter of 2021 which marked meaningful acceleration and growth momentum with new records reached across all usage metrics.
Quarterly active consumers, orders and GMV reached all-time highs of 3.8 million, 11.3 million and $330 million respectively, increasing by 29%, 40% and 20% year-over-year, respectively.
You can access the Jumia Sustainability Report here.
