---
title: "Why Jumia Food shut down"
description: "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."
canonical_url: "https://liners.com/graveyard/jumia-food"
markdown_url: "https://liners.com/graveyard/jumia-food.md"
type: "graveyard"
language: "en"
image: "/graveyard/jumia-food/certificate.png"
published_at: "2026-07-31T17:41:07.836Z"
updated_at: "2026-07-31T17:41:07.836Z"
---

# Why 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.

## Breadcrumbs

- [Graveyard](/graveyard)
- [Jumia Food](/graveyard/jumia-food)

## Summary

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.

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.

## Product history

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Fate | Sunset |
| Primary cause | BusinessModel |
| Stage at shutdown | Growth stage |
| Lifespan in days | 3986 |

## Autopsy report

## What the product 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.

## Sources

- [Jumia Food: A Post-Mortem](https://startupgraveyard.africa/blog/jumia-food-a-post-mortem): TechCabal
- [Jumia Food's shutdown left hundreds of drivers jobless, unable to withdraw earnings](https://restofworld.org/2024/jumia-food-delivery-shutdown/): Rest of World
- [Jumia to shut down 'Jumia Food' in Nigeria, other African countries by end of December 2023](https://nairametrics.com/2023/12/14/jumia-to-shut-down-jumia-food-in-nigeria-other-african-countries-by-end-of-december-2023/): Nairametrics
- [Jumia discontinues food delivery across seven markets, shifts focus to expanding physical goods business](https://group.jumia.com/news/jumia-discontinues-food-delivery-across-seven-markets-shifts-focus-to-expanding-physical-goods-business): TechCrunch (via Jumia Group)

## Related pages

- [Jumia Food alternatives](/jumia-food/alternatives)
- [Liners Graveyard](/graveyard)

## Access and citation

- [Canonical HTML page](https://liners.com/graveyard/jumia-food)
- [Markdown route index](/sitemap.md)
- [Agent access guide](/llms.txt)