African e-commerce company Jumia plans to maintain a strategy that has ramped up inventory supply from Chinese vendors and made Nigeria its largest market, to achieve profitability at the end of next year, CEO Francis Dufay told Semafor.

Jumia reported 87% year-on-year growth in the volume of items sold by international sellers on the platform, especially from China and Turkey, in the first quarter of this year. The company started importing goods from Chinese vendors two years ago to make up for a dearth of suppliers in Africa who can deliver a wide variety of large orders at scale with favorable prices, Dufay said. But it was also a strategy to counter the rise of Chinese online retailers on the continent, he said.

After mostly facing local players for years, Jumia’s competition in Africa now includes Chinese players especially Temu and Shein. Temu entered Nigeria in late 2024 and immediately became the most downloaded app in the country. Its aggressive marketing strategy persuades users to buy a vast range of items at cheaper prices. Dufay recognises Temu’s threat and plans to grow Jumia’s sales from China to compete.

Revenue for the first quarter rose 39% year-over-year to $50.6 million, with both the volume and monetary value of orders fulfilled rising by more than 30%. Pre-tax losses also rose within the period to maintain a trend of losses that stretches back to the company’s New York initial public offer in 2019. But the company said it will attain positive cash flow by this year’s fourth quarter.

A current strain on Jumia is a rise in operational costs due to higher fuel prices as a result of the Iran war. “We can’t really charge customers for it because their willingness to pay is limited,” said Dufay. Still, the war’s effects will not significantly change the company’s midterm financial goals, he added.