Jumia launches its Food Festival to support local restaurants during COVID-19

Africa’s E-commerce platform Jumia (NYSE: JMIA) has announced the launch of a Food Festival Campaign which will take place from 1st to 31st October. The campaign is organized in partnership with local restaurants and supermarkets, as well as blue-chip international restaurant chains such as KFC, Burger King and McDonald’s. The objective of the campaign is to promote the adoption of the meal and food ordering among consumers, which has become increasingly popular in the last few years. The event is also aimed at supporting restaurant businesses and the overall food ecosystem, as these have been severely affected by COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, resulting in less capacity, fewer opening hours, and sometimes shutdowns.

As part of the festival, Jumia will be hosting on its platform a wide variety of convenience food suppliers including grocery shops, bakeries as well as a broad range of restaurants and cuisines. Discounts of up to 50% discount and free delivery will be offered to consumers on food, beverages and supermarket purchases as part of the event. Additional discounts will be made available on orders placed using JumiaPay.

“We have been partnering with restaurants and supermarkets for many years now. Many of them have been through tough times over the past few months and are still suffering from the restrictions imposed as part of COVID-19 measures. At the same time, consumers are more and more mindful of social distancing and increasingly turn to online delivery. The Food Festival is a great opportunity for all food vendors – big and small, international and local – to engage with consumers online and offer them more convenience and value, in line with the theme of this year’s World Food Day celebration of Grow, Nourish, Sustain Together. We invite every consumer to try the service and by doing so also support local restaurants and food vendors, who are providing jobs to the communities” said Jumia co-CEOs, Jeremy Hodara and Sacha Poignonnec.

The COVID-19 crisis has shown the relevance of Jumia platform which offers a large selection of goods and services, at an affordable and a convenient contactless and safe experience. A growing number of restaurants are embracing the Jumia ecosystem to broaden their consumer reach during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As convenience is becoming more and more the norm in everyday life, delivery continues to be a key focus point for our business, today and in the future. Jumia has been instrumental in dealing with the respective Government agencies during the lockdown period to enable us and other food vendors to continue to trade even though our sit-down areas were closed,” said Jacques Theunissen, Chief Operating Officer, KFC representative in East Africa.

“As more consumers embrace online food delivery during and post COVID-19, we will strive to retain more consumers on Jumia Food through unmatched value convenience and superior customer experience” said Nacer Bendriss, Country Manager, Olayan Food, Burger King Representative in Morocco

The Festival which will feature over 4,000 local and international restaurants and food stores, will be held in 8 countries (Algeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Tunisia and Uganda) where Jumia Food operates. Partners for the festival represent all Jumia Food categories including restaurant, supermarket and groceries, pharmacies and gas cylinder refill service, all delivered at consumers’ doorsteps in as fast as 30 minutes.