Zinox on Jumia acquisition: It may happen in the future, but no concrete plans yet

Indigenous tech giant, Zinox Group, has said has no immediate concrete plans to acquire Jumia, an e-commerce startup, but that the acquisition may happen in the future.

Gideon Ayogu, Head of Corporate Communications, Zinox Group, who reacted to media reports that company is planning to acquire Jumia, noted that while there is no smoke without fire, there is no concrete plan yet.

“Truth is, there is no smoke without fire. The frenzy of media anticipation and rumours of a likely acquisition may not have been wrong but there must have been a leak somewhere and a misrepresentation of the core intention,” Ayogu said.

“At the risk of sounding immodest, it is something that is certainly not impossible in a couple of years’ time but certainly not now, as the global tech economy will sweat a bit for the next 12 months. In a major development such as this, there must be first, an offer and an acceptance. But the leak came too early. I can confirm that there is currently no discussion at Board level on this and there is no urgent need for a Jumia acquisition, he clarified.

On the impressive trajectory of Konga, a rival e-commerce firm acquired by the Zinox Group in 2018 at an almost market-exit stage and which barely three years later has been transformed into a profitable entity, the first e-commerce brand to achieve the feat in Africa, Ayogu disclosed that a lot of investments is at present, ongoing to further deepen its strong foothold in the market.

“E-commerce globally is an expensive project. But I can confirm that Konga investors are not just passionate but are presently making huge investments across strategic verticals of the business.

‘‘With respect to Konga, it is an ambitious project for Africa and by those who understand Africa, so the management is taking one step at a time to build a true e-commerce company with capacity, global trust and respect.

“Konga is today building a flourishing ecosystem of its own and with a vibrant mobile money platform to boot. I can assure you that we have a lot to announce within the next three months and you shall be appropriately informed and no speculations please,” he concluded