Jumia In Collaboration With Zipline On Goods With Drones In Smallest Regions In Africa

JAKARTA - Delivery of goods using drones is now increasingly common in various parts of the world. In addition to being practical and fast, this unmanned vehicle can reach remote areas where transportation equipment is difficult in general, such as motorbikes, trucks or delivery cars.

The Africa-focused e-commerce company Jumia Technologies partnered with drone delivery startup Zipline, on Thursday 1 September. This collaboration allowed them to ship household items to remote areas of Ghana.

The venture will automatically incorporate the San Francisco-based on-demand Zipline delivery system, with Jumia's distribution network that allows customers from remote and rural areas to order and receive electronic goods, cosmetics, fashion and other products.

Jumia, known as an online market for vendors and food sellers, with related services including logistics and payments, is the first technology start-up to focus on Africa. The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2019. According to Refinitiv data, Jumia currently has a current market capitalization of 741 million US dollars.

Zipline and #Jumia join forces to pioneer #drone delivery of thousands of products to homes across #Africa #ecommerce #logistics #ghana @zipline pic.twitter.com/Qs4wsQqRL9

— Jumia Group (@Jumia_Group) September 1, 2022

Jumia's spokesman told Reuters the new venture was part of Jumia's plans to reach a growing customer base in the area, which is about 27% of the company's total deliveries.

"This collaboration will provide much-needed access to rural and remote areas where conventional delivery services have challenges," said Apoorva Kumar, chief operating officer Jumia Group.

Delivery of medical supplies and vaccines with drones has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic as countries and companies rush to find innovative ways to reach the community at large when the movement of goods is restricted.

Many companies now see the opportunity to ship goods other than medical needs. Even companies like Amazon.com Inc, United Parcel Service Inc, and FedEx Corp, are all working on some pilot programs to deliver household items and other services to customers.

Zipline currently offers delivery of blood drones, vaccines, and other medical equipment in Ghana, Rwanda, Nigeria, and the United States, with its latest launches to Japan.

After a successful pilot program and trials in Ghana a few months ago, Jumia and Zipline plan to expand their program to Ivory Coast and Nigeria. But they could not provide a schedule when it started.

Jumia operates in 11 African countries and has more than 30 warehouses and 3,000 delivery stations and is picking up on its logistics network.