Jumia Technologies is now formally listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) making it the first African Tech Start-up to list on the Exchange- a move that could pave the way for other tech start-ups around the continent.
Shares in what has been called “Africa’s Amazon” started trading today. The company was set to list up to 18% of its shares in an initial public offer (IPO) giving it “unicorn” status – a technology start-up worth $1 billion –plus.
Jumia’s price range is set between $13 and $16 with its updated S1 filing showing the company will offer 13.5 million shares for purchase. Jumia’s share could rise as much as $216 million if it goes on sale at the highest point of range.
The stock traded 34 percent higher at $19.22 as of 10:43 am local time on Friday, valuing the company at about $1.5 billion.
The listing caps seven years of growth for Jumia which was founded in 2012. The company has more than 4 million customers across 14 African countries. While the retail platform is not profitable, sales jumped by almost 40 percent last year to 130.6 million euros( $147.3 million)