African e-commerce group Jumia Technologies was left with just $367,000 of total equity at the end of June, before a $50m injection anchored by the International Finance Corporation rescued it from the brink, the company disclosed on Tuesday.
The New York-listed, Berlin-headquartered company, often described as Africa’s Amazon, had burned through almost all its financial buffer in the first half of 2026, with total equity slumping from $25.7m at the end of December to a mere $367,000 six months later. Its accumulated losses now exceed $2.26bn. Equity is what remains after you subtract everything the company owes (liabilities) from everything the company owns (assets). That tiny $367,000 of equity meant that if the company had sold every asset at book value and paid off every liability, almost nothing would have been left for shareholders. The business was worth, on paper, close to zero.
The cash position also deteriorated rapidly. Jumia held $48.3m in cash, equivalents and term deposits at June 30, down from $77.8m at the start of the year. Net cash used in operations amounted to $24.3m in the first half, while overall cash fell by $28.3m.
The lifeline, agreed on August 11, will see investors purchase 9.1m American depositary shares at $5.52 apiece, generating gross proceeds of $50m. The IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is committing $25m, with existing shareholder Axian and selected new investors providing the remainder. The transaction, subject to customary conditions, is expected to close in the second half of August.
“The agreed investment anchored by the International Finance Corporation … will strengthen our balance sheet as we execute against that plan,” said chief executive Francis Dufay. He added that the company remained on track to reach adjusted ebitda breakeven and positive cash flow in the fourth quarter of 2026, and full-year adjusted ebitda profitability in 2027.
Jumia’s unaudited interim financial statements for the six months to June 30, signed off on a going concern basis, had laid bare the scale of the squeeze. Total equity attributable to shareholders of the parent company had fallen to $888,000, down from $26.3m at the year-end. Non-controlling interests were negative to the tune of $521,000, leaving the group’s consolidated equity at just $367,000.
The second quarter performance offered some evidence of operational momentum, even as the balance sheet crisis deepened. Revenue rose 14 per cent year on year to $52.0m in the three months to June, while gross merchandise value — a measure of total sales on its platform — climbed 20 per cent, or 23 per cent adjusted for its exit from Algeria. Gross profit increased 28 per cent to $30.7m and adjusted ebitda losses narrowed by 36 per cent to $8.7m.
The company also continued to slash headcount, bringing total employees down to just over 1,770 by the end of June, an 11 per cent decline in the quarter alone and a nearly 60 per cent reduction since current management took charge in late 2022. Dufay said artificial intelligence was enabling further efficiency across operations, finance and technology functions.
Yet the numbers show how close Jumia came to exhausting its equity base before the capital raise. Even after factoring in the $50m injection, the company must still navigate a difficult macro environment. It pointed to supply disruptions in smartphones and electronics because of memory chip shortages, air freight disruption from the Middle East conflict, and significant fuel price increases that pushed up last-mile delivery costs.
Tax exposures also linger. Beyond $8.5m of recognised tax provisions, Jumia disclosed a further $18.3m in possible but not probable claims related to withholding tax and VAT across its African markets, which could erode future cash buffers if realised.
Jumia framed the fundraising as allowing it to pursue its next phase of growth, improve efficiency in core markets and reinforce its logistics network. The IFC’s involvement is likely to be seen as a validation of the group’s strategy, though the share price at which the rescue was executed points to substantial dilution for existing holders. The company did not disclose the dilution percentage, but with 247.7m ordinary shares on issue at the end of 2025, the new 9.1m ADSs — each representing one ordinary share — will increase the share count by about 3.7 per cent before any wider share-based issuance.
Dufay argued that the headwinds reinforced the case for Jumia’s localised model. “Our focus on value for money makes Jumia even more relevant to consumers in an inflationary environment, as value-focused platforms tend to gain share when household budgets tighten,” he said.
The company updated its full-year GMV growth guidance to between 20 and 30 per cent, adjusted for perimeter effects, and forecast an adjusted ebitda loss of $25m to $30m for the year. For the third quarter, it expects GMV to increase 15 to 25 per cent year on year, reflecting continued caution on higher-value categories.
Jumia’s shares, which have fallen sharply from their pandemic-era highs, will now be tested against a clear timeline: management has six months to prove that its streamlined cost base and marketplace shift can finally halt the cash burn that almost wiped out the company.