MTN To Sell Over $243m Stake In Jumia

MTN Group is said to be considering selling part or all of its $243 million interest in Jumia Technologies AG as Africa’s biggest wireless carrier looks to pay down debt and enter new markets.

MTN, which has previously marked the online retailer as a non-core business, is reviving plans for a sale after Jumia’s shares surged 142% this year, recovering from a dip in 2019, a source said.

No final decisions about the sale had been made, the source said, asking not to be identified because the plans were private. Called Africa’s Amazon, Jumia operates in 14 African countries including Nigeria and Ivory Coast where the US giant still lacks distribution infrastructure.

The company – headquartered in Germany and run by its two French founders, Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara – dropped below its initial public offering price in 2019 after improper transactions in its Nigerian business were uncovered.

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