Good morning. Africa Internet Group has raised money. Again. 75 million Euro. That’s just over $80 million. Less than a month since it raised 300 million Euro from new and previous investors.
This time, the money is coming from Orange, a global telco with a significant footprint in Africa. That makes Orange the third telco that has invested in AIG…MTN and Millicom are already equity stakeholders. Orange is also joining AXA and Goldman Sachs on the AIG Rocket Internet ship. This is getting crazy. What the hell does their cap table look like?
I’ve reproduced the original announcement below.
Africa Internet Group, the largest e-commerce platform in Africa and parent company of Jumia, today announced a partnership with Orange to accelerate the growth of the company and seize development opportunities on the continent.
In line with the partnership, Orange – one of the leading telecommunication operators in Africa – will make a EUR75 million equity investment in Africa Internet Group. Orange will become a shareholder of Africa Internet Group alongside existing shareholders MTN, Rocket Internet, Millicom, AXA and Goldman Sachs.
“We are thrilled by Orange’s equity investment and are eager to translate our strategic partnership into unique offers for our customers. Jumia and our other online consumer services give millions of African consumers an opportunity to access and transact with local companies in a new and very convenient way. With Orange’s support and expertise, combined with that of our existing long-standing shareholders, we will be able to further improve our service offerings and the customer experience while continuing to invest in our infrastructure,” said Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara, founders and co-CEOs of Jumia and Africa Internet Group.
MTN Group Chief Digital Officer, Herman Singh, stated “MTN welcomes Orange as a shareholder. We are delighted that this partnership gives Africa Internet Group greater support in territories where MTN does not operate. The investment also validates the proven business model and underscores MTN’s focus on e-commerce as a strategic pillar of our digital business.”
Jumia has built a strong presence in several key African markets where it will now be able to further improve its offering and customer experience thanks to this partnership, in particular in key countries such as Morocco and Egypt.
Oliver Samwer, CEO of Rocket Internet said “the partnership will allow Jumia to further improve its position as the leading ecommerce platform in Africa, and we anticipate significant synergies with Orange in markets which have tremendous potential.”
Stéphane Richard, Chairman and CEO of Orange, stated: “We are particularly pleased to announce our entry into the capital of Africa Internet Group. With this strategic investment, Orange now has the capacity to play a leading role in the fast-growing e-commerce market in Africa. This acquisition is combined with the signature of several important partnership agreements that will create value for all parties. In particular, across the twelve countries where we have a common presence, this investment will enable us to significantly develop our ability to market products and services developed by Orange Middle East & Africa over the Internet. This operation, initiated by our corporate investment fund Orange Digital Ventures, is fully aligned with our strategic plan, Essentiels2020, particularly with regards to our ambition to reinvent customer service, develop the digital channels and services offered to customers as well as our ambition to develop our activities in Africa and the Middle East.”
