In addition to Zando, BNP Paribas and HSBC six international companies have left South Africa in 2024. Picture: Zando Website
South Africans will have to say goodbye to Zando as Jumia Technologies has announced that it will close the e-commerce retailer at the end of the year.
Jumia’s chief executive officer Francis Dufay told Reuters that in addition to closing Zando they were closing their Tunisian operations in order to focus on other more profitable markets.
“The trajectory of the countries did not align with the strategy of the group,” Dufay said.
He noted that the tech company, which was founded in Nigeria in 2012 is trying to aggressively cut costs and turn financially viable.
As a result, the company will be cutting around 110 jobs in SA and Tunisia.
The CEO did not say how many jobs will be lost specifically in South Africa.
Jumia will no longer provide customers with food items and delivery services not related to its e-commerce business in countries or markets it will stay in.
The company will remain in Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and Kenya.
“We believe it's the right decision. It enables us to refocus our resources on the other nine markets, where we see more promising trends in terms of scale and profitability,” Dufay explained.
Two large foreign banks have chosen to leave South Africa.
BNP Paribas and HSBC have decided to vacate their South African operations and announced that they would be leaving this year, subject to regulatory approval.
HSBC, a UK-based bank said that it concluded its last deal with Absa and FirstRand at the end of September.
In addition to Zando, BNP Paribas and HSBC six international companies have left South Africa in 2024.
These companies include, Shell, AngloGold Ashanti, Rolex, BP and TotalEnergies.
IOL BUSINESS