How Jumia is courting Côte d’Ivoire’s informal retail market

Jumia, the African e-commerce giant, is expanding its presence in Cote d'Ivoire's informal retail market. The company is shifting its focus from urban centers to secondary cities and rural areas, where over 67% of orders in 2024 were made. Jumia has established a new 5,500 m² warehouse in PK24 and relies on a network of 19,000 independent field commercial advisors (JForce) to drive marketing activations across the country.

In order to successfully penetrate the Ivorian market, brands in the consumer goods (FMCG) sector need to understand that Jumia should be viewed as a platform for building brand awareness and a marketing infrastructure layer, rather than just a sales channel. This is due to the fact that most grocery wholesalers in Cote d'Ivoire do not stock products that are not already known to consumers.

The informal distribution network, which accounts for 85% of commercial transactions, consists of corner shops, street vendors, and market stalls.

The Ivorian e-commerce sector has grown by 30% in 2023, and the government has allocated 32 billion FCFA to develop a national e-commerce strategy until 2028. A national e-commerce law is currently being drafted, and the government has launched Tradepost, a digital commerce platform for Ivorian SMEs, and is actively identifying and formalizing informal online sellers, particularly those operating on Facebook and TikTok.

The digital economy already represents 9% of the country's GDP, and nearly half of the population (~47.5%) lives outside urban centers.