Jumia Food

Food delivery service.

🇳🇬 Nigeria E-commerce & RetailSunset by its owner

Epitaph

“Here lies Jumia Food. For a decade it carried meals to doorsteps across seven African markets, until its parent chose profit over the round trip. The delivery was cancelled mid-route, and riders were left with earnings the app would no longer release.”

Overview

Born: 2013 (Year)
Died: December 2023 (Month)
Lifespan: 11 years
Fate: Sunset by its owner
Headquarters: 🇳🇬 Nigeria
Category: E-commerce & Retail, Quick Commerce
Stage at death: Growth stage
Primary cause: Business model or unit economics
Contributing causes: Execution, Acquisition or strategy change

Death certificate

Timeline

2013Jumia Food launched
part of Jumia's e-commerce expansion, beginning in Nigeria and later spreading across Africa
13 December 2023Drivers locked out
food-delivery riders in Kenya and elsewhere abruptly lose app access
14 December 2023Shutdown announced
Jumia confirms discontinuation of food delivery in seven countries as part of a ~900-person layoff and cost-cutting drive under CEO Francis Dufay

Autopsy report

Why did Jumia Food shut down?

Jumia discontinued its Jumia Food delivery business across seven African markets (Algeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda) in December 2023 as part of a cost-cutting push toward profitability under CEO Francis Dufay, citing poor unit economics, downward pressure on commissions, and rising marketing costs; the abrupt closure left many delivery riders locked out of the app with earnings they couldn't withdraw.

What Jumia Food attempted

A food-delivery marketplace connecting restaurants and riders to customers, launched in 2013 as part of Jumia's broader e-commerce platform and expanded to Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Uganda, Algeria and other markets (with earlier discontinuation in Egypt, Ghana and Senegal).

What worked

Generated $63.9 million in gross sales by Q3 2023 (about 11% of Jumia's total merchandise value), with growth in active and returning users, though it never reached profitability.

Early warning signs

Jumia was still recruiting new part-time delivery workers at Lagos colleges just weeks before shutting the business down; the parent company posted a $19 million Q3 2023 loss and was simultaneously cutting about 900 jobs (20% of its workforce) as part of a broader profitability push.

What happened

In December 2023, Jumia announced it would discontinue Jumia Food across seven countries to refocus on its core physical-goods e-commerce business, citing downward pressure on commissions and rising marketing costs; riders were given little to no notice — some, like a Kenyan driver locked out on December 13, 2023 — and many could not withdraw earnings trapped in the app.

Lessons for future builders

A delivery marketplace can grow orders for years without ever fixing the cost of each one. Prove contribution margin per delivery before scaling into new markets, and when you close a unit, give gig workers notice and pay out their trapped balances.