New chapter for African e-commerce. Jumia could be close to being acquired by Axian Telecom. The telecommunications company has raised $600 million this week, to refinance its debt and aim for a possible acquisition of the African ecommerce giant, Bloomberg news agency has advanced.

Axian Telecom has been progressively increasing its stake in Jumia, and revealed in May that it already owned 8% of its shares. The deal would aim to contribute to the expansion of both companies on the African continent.

Headquartered in Mauritius, Axian mainly offers telecommunications services in Africa. It was one of the first African companies to achieve unicorn status, reserved for those with a valuation of more than $1 billion.

Jumia is known as the African Amazon and has a valuation of $500 million

If the deal is formalized, Jumia could be delisted from the stock market, where its shares have fallen significantly since its IPO. However, the rumored buyout has propelled them up 6% on the trading floor. Representatives of both companies have declined to comment on the matter.

Jumia was founded in 2012 in Nigeria by Jérémy Hodara and Sacha Poignonnec, two young Frenchmen who worked at the McKinsey consulting firm. According to the latest published data, in 2024 it had 5.4 million active consumers in Africa and received 22.3 million orders, through which it delivered more than 117 million products.