Africa Internet Group (AIG) has received more than Sh33 billion in funding to be invested in its two major e-commerce platforms.
Secured from both new and existing investors, including AXA, a worldwide leader in insurance and asset management, AIG, the parent company of Jovago and Jumia, will use the funds also pooled from MTN, Rocket Internet as well as Goldman Sachs to market hotel booking site Jovago and online shopping site Jumia.
“This investment is a recognition of the success that AIG has already achieved and provides us with a strategic flexibility to further support our efforts to offer the best shopping experience to our customers,” said Sacha Poignonnec, co-founder and co-CEO of Jumia and AIG.
“We are therefore delighted to welcome AXA and Goldman Sachs as new investors and are also grateful for the continued confidence from our existing shareholders. To us, it is a recognition of the quality of our operations across the African continent and an affirmation of the significant growth potential of AIG,” he added.
Jumia and Jovago are part of a larger ecosystem of companies supported by Africa Internet Group (AIG), the leading internet platform in Africa with a network of companies including Carmudi, Easy Taxi, Everjobs, Hellofood, Jovago, Jumia, Kaymu, Lamudi, Vendito and Zando across 23 African countries.
"Jovago’s strong performance in the last 2 years makes it one of the fastest growing hotel booking portal in the world and this investment consolidates our commitment to making travel more convenient and affordable for our customers in all Africa,” said Jovago chief executive Paul Midy.
Since its creation in 2013 by AIG and the opening of its first offices in Africa, Jovago has been growing steadily.
The online hotel booking service with offices in Lagos (Nigeria), Nairobi (Kenya), Dakar (Senegal) and in 10 others countries in Africa and Asia, founded by Africa Internet Group has a large inventory of up to 25,000 hotels in over 40 African countries and 200,000 hotels worldwide.
Jumia, on the other hand, is one of Africa’s leading online shopping platforms with a presence in 11 countries.
Since launching in 2012, the company has transformed the way that African consumers shop by offering them the opportunity to buy everything from fashion items to consumer electronics to home appliances all online.