Jumia Technologies, the NYSE-listed African e-commerce platform, has elected former African Development Bank president Akinwumi Adesina to its supervisory board alongside two other newcomers, strengthening the company’s governance as it races toward breakeven.
Shareholders voted on the appointments at the annual general meeting on May 15, the company said in a statement on Monday. Longstanding chairman Jonathan Klein — co-founder and ex-CEO of Getty Images — and deputy chair Anne Ooga Eriksson were both re-elected, providing continuity at the top of the board.
The refresh brings the five-member supervisory board a mix of development finance heft, pan-African operational experience and capital markets discipline. It comes as Jumia, once seen by some investors as an “African Amazon”, works to convince the market it can halt years of cash burn and deliver sustainable profits.
The new faces
Adesina is the most eye-catching appointment. The Nigerian economist led the African Development Bank from 2015 to 2025, more than tripling its capital base from $93 billion to $318 billion. Before that, as Nigeria’s agriculture minister, he pioneered a digital voucher scheme for fertiliser that reached 15 million smallholder farmers. He currently chairs the Global Africa Investment Summit, a platform aimed at mobilising institutional capital into African sovereign assets.
Also formally elected was Hassanein Hiridjee, who has served on the board since September 2025. Hiridjee is CEO of Axian Group, a Madagascar-headquartered conglomerate with telecoms, financial services, energy and real estate operations across 21 African countries — many of which overlap with Jumia’s eight markets. His appointment cements a link to a deep operator on the ground.
The third newcomer is Benjamin Faw, a US-based investor and advisor with a background in marketing and e-commerce. Jumia described Faw as having “extensive expertise in marketing, operations, institutional investment and capital markets” and noted his track record working with growth-stage companies on achieving cash flow positivity — an unsubtle hint at his brief.
The profitability timeline
Jumia’s leadership has been clear about the financial targets. The company expects to reach adjusted EBITDA breakeven and positive cash flow in the fourth quarter of 2026, with full-year profitability and positive cash flow in 2027. That would mark a turning point for a business that has rarely been able to shake investor scepticism since its 2019 IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.
Recent numbers have lent some credibility to the roadmap. Gross merchandise volume (GMV) grew 31% year over year to $212.2 million in the first quarter of 2026, while revenue rose 39% to $50.6 million. Full-year 2025 GMV reached $818.6 million. The company has also “materially reduced its cash burn,” though it did not disclose specific quarterly figures in the board announcement.
The governance signal
For a company that has burned through several management teams and shifted strategy repeatedly — pulling out of multiple countries, retreating from first-party retail to a marketplace model, and slashing headcount — the board reshuffle is an attempt to embed more financial rigour at the top.
Adesina’s presence signals an intent to deepen relationships with development finance institutions and governments across the continent. Hiridjee brings operator knowledge from some of Africa’s most fragmented markets. Faw’s focus on unit economics and cash generation aligns squarely with the push to hit profitability.
Chairman Klein acknowledged the pivot in the company’s statement: “This Supervisory Board brings together deep, first-hand knowledge of African markets, rigorous discipline around capital and returns, governance experience and market understanding the Company needs at this stage. Benjamin Faw and Dr Akinwumi Adesina joined at a defining moment, as Jumia moves from a growth-at-all-costs model to one defined by sustainable, profitable scale.”
Adesina struck a similarly bullish note: “Africa’s digital economy and e-commerce sector are not a future promise — it is today’s reality, and Jumia has been central to building it. I join at a moment of clear momentum: fundamentals are improving, leadership is focused, and Africa’s structural opportunity is undeniable.”
What’s not being said
Still, challenges remain. Jumia operates in eight countries, from Nigeria and Kenya to Ivory Coast and Morocco, each with its own currency, regulatory regime and logistics bottlenecks. Inflation and currency devaluation — notably in Nigeria, its largest market — have hammered reported revenues in the past. Competition is intensifying, not from a single regional rival but from local players and social commerce platforms that often bypass formal logistics networks.
The board changes also do nothing to alter the day-to-day leadership team: CEO Francis Dufay and his executives must still execute on the ground. The path to profitability depends as much on managing fulfilment costs, payment defaults and seller quality as it does on board oversight.
The market’s initial reaction was muted. Jumia’s shares closed Monday on Wall Street at [price not provided in source], reflecting the broader wait-and-see attitude that has long surrounded the stock.
Bottom line
Jumia’s board refresh is a calibrated step in its quest for credibility. The addition of Adesina gives political and institutional heft; Hiridjee embeds operational knowledge; Faw offers a financial lens. Together with the retention of Klein and Eriksson, the board now looks more equipped to oversee a company trying to prove that pan-African e-commerce can be a profitable business, not just a long-dated narrative. The next test comes with second-quarter numbers, when investors will look for more evidence that the path to 2027 is still intact.