Hassanein Hiridjee, the founder and CEO of Axian Group, has joined Jumia’s Supervisory Board, according to a SEC filing published today. Hiridjee joins the eCommerce company’s advisory board just as Angela Mwanza, Managing Director of the Rockefeller Capital Management, resigned.
In June 2025, Techpoint Africa reported that AXIAN Telecom had acquired an 8% stake in the company.
Not long after, Bloomberg reported that Axian, headquartered in Mauritius and operating across 17 African and Middle Eastern markets, was exploring a full acquisition of Jumia.
By that point, its stake had climbed to 9.18%, valued at approximately $52.5 million. Supporting these ambitions, Axian also raised $600 million in bond funding.
Axian’s entry into Jumia’s cap table couldn’t be more timely. The eCommerce company has endured turbulent times since its IPO, when its stock value fell from over $3 billion to a fraction of that today. That has forced many investors, including early backer Baillie Gifford, to exit the company.
Hiridjee’s appointment to the Supervisory Board positions Axian to exert influence over corporate governance and strategic decisions, potentially guiding Jumia’s turnaround.
Since Francis Dufay became CEO in late 2022, Jumia has embarked on an overhaul to stem losses and lay the groundwork for profitability. The company has significantly trimmed its annual losses — from approximately $206 million in 2022 to an expected $50–55 million in 2025 — through rigorous cost cutting, including workforce reductions and withdrawal from unprofitable markets like Tunisia and South Africa.
Jumia is also doubling down on its core markets — Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Egypt — rather than spreading thin across the continent. A key part of this involves expanding reach into secondary cities and rural areas. Orders from these regions now account for over 50% of total volume, up from 49% last year.
In Q2 2025, revenue grew 25% to $45.6 million, operating losses dropped 18% to $16.5 million, and cash burn was halved quarter-over-quarter
Cross-border international sellers, especially from China, now supply roughly one-third of Jumia’s platform goods, an indicator of how the company is positioning itself amid growing competition from rivals like Temu and Shein.
