African e-commerce giant, Jumia, has completed the sale of 20 million American depositary shares (ADSs) and raised over $100 million, given its share price of around $5.70 at the time.
This development comes barely two weeks ago TechCrunch reported the plans of the company to sell its shares.
Before commissions and other costs, $99.6 million was raised through the transaction.
The funds will be used by Jumia for basic business needs, such as acquiring new clients, growing its network of suppliers, developing its logistics system, and enhancing vendor and marketing technologies.
Along with this, it will make investments in advancing the technology that backs its vendors and vertical marketing, a value-added service that it has been providing to clients since 2021.
The filing projects an average share price of approximately $4.95, which is somewhat higher than the $4.90 trading price on Friday.
Jumia CEO Francis Dufay said in a statement that the capital will “further strengthen our balance sheet and help us accelerate our growth trajectory as we progress along our path to profitability.”
The increased funds, according to Dufay, will help Jumia’s balance sheet remain stronger and its growth trajectory towards profitability be accelerated.
After the company filed a prospectus supplement with the SEC on August 6, 2024, the ATM offering was carried out through the agents of the company, RBC Capital Markets and Berenberg Capital Markets.
The e-tailer platform had projected that the value of Nigeria’s rapidly growing e-commerce industry will hit $22 billion in 2024.
The announcement was made through a report titled “Jumia’s E-Commerce in Rural Areas in Nigeria,” emphasizing the transformative impact of e-commerce beyond major cities.
We earlier reported that Jumia Food has disclosed that it will no longer provide services in Nigeria after December 2023.
It said it plans to terminate its food services in other countries which are Kenya, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Uganda.
