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.

Speaking in a recent interview with Darius Teeter of Stanford Seed, she said more tech companies are trooping into the African market, thus opening up more possibilities in the e-commerce space.

Between 2014 to 2018, the number of online shoppers on the African continent was said to have increased annually, at an average growth rate of 18%, higher than the global average of 12%.

Statista puts the number of digital buyers in Africa at 281 million in 2020, estimating an increase to 520 million by 2025. However, the current number of active users on Africa’s largest e-commerce platform stands at 7 million, thus showing the huge market gap yet to be explored on the continent.

Anammah explained that the company hopes to close the gap by expanding footprints in its current verticals.

“All said and done, we are the largest e-commerce platform on the continent, and you are on the continent where e-commerce is still 2-5% of total retail, which is a huge upside. This is a huge area to focus on rather than look into new verticals. Now we are deepening our footprints within the countries we are in, and we are for now concentrating on those 11 countries,” she said.

Given the vast untapped market, e-commerce brands deploy innovative ways to explore the unique African business terrain. Jumia has the JForce network that helps push online shopping services in rural communities.

The company recently expanded its footprints by taking hubs and pickup stations closer to customers in different communities across Nigeria.

On Jumia’s initiatives to further deepen market reach and acceptance, Anammah said: “We are working to bring more sellers and brands to the platform. Another area we want to focus on is the shift from high-value products to everyday products, essentials and consumables. That’s where we are deepening our presence. We already saw sales of consumables growing on our platform. Last year we saw that sugar and pears had record sales in some countries, unlike before where it might have been an electronic product.”

Touching on the impact of COVID-19 on e-commerce on the continent, she stated that the effect of the pandemic on sales was more of a blip, as the continent was already on a trajectory. “I think the pandemic was a blip in Africa. COVID-19 was not a determinant in the growth of e-commerce on the continent; rather, e-commerce had been on a trajectory given that you have over 500 million internet users and Africa is a mobile-first environment. So it’s almost like Africans have been hungry to do more with their mobile phones, and e-commerce happens to be one of those areas.

“If there’s an area I think there was more awareness of the potential of e-commerce was in the public policy and agency where they discovered that this is something that can be leveraged for job creation and economic development as a whole.”

She added that governments and agencies in Africa have been supportive of e-commerce and “are doing their best to see that companies like us are operating well.”