Top African E-commerce Platform Offers Cash on Delivery
Feb 21, 2024
Jumia—a Pan-African internet retailer and tech company—has faced challenges achieving its ambition of ‘delivering to the doors of millions’, but among its success stories is the ‘cash on delivery’ payment option allowing it to reach audiences who are unwilling or unable to make online payments.
‘Worried about paying online? Jumia has got the perfect solution for you,’ says an advert on the company’s Nigerian YouTube account. ‘Choose “pay on delivery” at checkout, your order will be delivered to you, and you can pay in cash or with your card. It’s simple, it’s easy and it’s safe.’
The Economist notes ‘the Amazon of Africa’ has experienced difficulties, with its share price dropping almost 90 percent in five years, but its outreach to more rural, cash-based communities is proving fruitful. CEO Francis Dufay explains: ‘I’ve read a lot of articles about Jumia that say there is not enough demand in Africa. The reality is much more complicated. The demand is scattered.’
In an ironic twist for one of Africa’s e-commerce giants, Jumia often prints catalogues for [small town] customers, many of whom often pay for their goods in cash.
Jumia is far from the only digitally driven business to facilitate cash customers, with Amazon also offering cash on delivery options in some countries (such as India and Egypt), America’s ride-hailing service Lyft introducing cash payments in 2022 and food delivery company DoorDash adding a cash option in 2023.
Increasingly, both physical and digital businesses are recognising the importance of payment choice to consumers and reaping the benefits of increased outreach as a result.