Jumia Jumps 9.3% on Wednesday

• Jumia Jumps 9.3% on Wednesday

Jumia (NYSE: JMIA) rose by $3.99 or 9.28 percent on Wednesday to $46.99 per share.

The largest e-commerce company in Africa debut on the New York Stock Exchange on April 12 at $14.5 and since then it has gained 241 percent.

Jumia popularly called ‘Amazon of Africa has a presence in 14 African countries with a market capitalisation of $3.59 billion.

Its largest investor, MTN Group Ltd, Africa’s largest telecommunication company, owns 19 percent of the e-commerce giant and plan to relinquish the whole stake later this year to narrow down its focus to phones and data services.

Investors currently jumping on Jumia sees the company as the gateway to Africa’s growing internet business and an opportunity to tap into its potential with less risk.

“If an online retailer develops a name and offers a good consumer experience, people feel safer to use it,” said Seema Shah, a consumer analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence in New York. For the IPO to be successful, investors will have to see Jumia as “a chance to play in Africa with less risk.”