Jumia To Replace 200 Jobs With AI To Reach Profitability By End Of 2026
Africa’s largest e-commerce platform, Jumia, is aiming to hit profitability at the end of the year, aided by plans to cut 200 jobs, about 10% of its workforce, as the company deploys artificial intelligence to slash costs and drive top-line growth, Chief Executive Francis Dufay said.
The reductions, part of a multi-year restructuring that has already trimmed headcount by more than half from 4,318 employees at the end of 2022, will be powered by AI automation across logistics, customer service, finance, and marketing. Dufay said the company is now running AI-driven workflows across multiple functions.
“We are able to automate across our business and increase revenue, lower operational and fixed-cost base,” Dufay said in a Bloomberg TV interview. “The coming two quarters, we are going to save on about 10% of headcount, mainly driven by AI.”
The push follows stronger-than-expected first-quarter results. Revenue rose 39% year-on-year to USD 50.6 M, beating analyst forecasts of USD 47.36 M, while gross merchandise value climbed 31% to USD 211.2 M. Nigeria, the company’s largest market, posted a 42% increase in physical goods GMV.
The adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed 32% to USD 10.7 M, putting the company on track for its target of breaking even on an adjusted core earnings basis and achieving positive cash flow in the fourth quarter, followed by full-year profitability in 2027.
“We cannot charge incredible margins,” Dufay said, referring to Jumia’s customer base of consumers earning between USD 200.00 and USD 300.00 per month. “If we want to make money, we have to be extremely efficient, cheap, lean in everything we do.”
Dufay moved offices and top executives from Dubai to African operations, exited non-core businesses including food delivery. Jumia now operates in eight markets, down from 14, after exiting South Africa, Tunisia and most recently Algeria, which accounted for roughly 2% of 2025 GMV. The company’s workforce has already fallen 8% since December 2024 to about 1,980 employees as of March 2026.
Despite the conflict in the Middle East, which has driven up fuel prices and logistics costs, Dufay said Jumia would still reach profitability in coming months boosted by its AI push.
“We are seeing about 20% price increases in the lower-end smartphones,” Dufay said. “Still, consumer demand remains strong in our markets, with Nigeria growing over 40%.”
Jumia’s accumulated losses stood at USD 2.2 B as of December 2025. Baillie Gifford has exited its stake, and Rocket Internet, the German incubator that founded Jumia in 2012, has also walked away.
Dufay said Jumia is automating many manual tasks using AI tools that now take only weeks to develop. “It works just as well and is actually more scalable,” he said.
The CEO also noted the supervisory board has tied management incentives directly to achieving the Q4 2026 breakeven target.
The job cuts place Jumia among a growing list of African technology companies turning to AI-driven restructuring. Flutterwave cut roughly half its Kenya and South Africa staff in mid-2025, while Sabi shed 20% of its team before pivoting into commodities.
The CEO’s bet is that with revenue growing more than 30% every quarter and AI reducing fixed costs, Jumia can finally escape years of cash burn. “This business has changed,” Dufay said in February. “It’s clear in the numbers that profitability is within reach.
